A week before “the entire country shut down,” Elizabeth Speed signed the papers and became the new owner of Oxsicles, an Oxford popsicle staple since 2017. While the business usually thrives on outdoor events in the area like Double Decker and Watermelon Carnival, Speed had to adapt. Luckily, the previous owner, Lauren Klimetz, set her up for success and taught her everything she learned in her years owning the company.
Chef Spotlights
Summer is officially here, and that means it’s prime time to enjoy some ice cream. If you’re feeling cooped up in your house, venture out and have fun with it – all while getting a scoop of your favorite flavor and getting out of town. Here are just a few options Northeast Mississippi has to offer, but check your area to see if there are more.
Katy Pruitt and Mickey Fratesi, who run The Gypsy together, have both been in the food industry since they can remember. Fratesi owned a restaurant in Saltillo, and was attracted to food trucks for one major benefit: location. Unlike a restaurant, a food truck is never tied down to one place, and can go where the business is. But first thing was first: they needed a truck and a menu, which would take them two years to perfect.
Local Mobile opened up back in August of 2013, staking its pioneering claim as Tupelo’s first food truck, and the state’s second. Back then, food truck laws were few and far between, and Tupelo had yet to add any to its legislature. The city let Kurt McKellan open a truck anyways, operating under temporary event rules and regulations, and would eventually add ordinances over time.
Few people have what it takes to run a restaurant, let alone run one out of a truck. There are a lot of unimaginable challenges to the naked eye: Wind blowing napkins and wrappers around, learning how much food to prepare on a Tuesday versus a Friday and an overall cramped space with limited equipment, often more than one person working in the kitchen.
Hannah Quarles, the owner of Rosie’s Grab & Go in Pontotoc, has been dreaming of owning a food truck for years now. For a science project in the fourth grade, she created a sauce; and in the eighth grade, she got her first job at a local restaurant. There, she would learn waitressing by filling glasses or serving food. Her passion for the food industry quickly snowballed, and hasn’t slowed since.