Jacksonville residents now have a mobile grocery store downtown.
The Saturiwa Trading Company grocery truck is a new addition at The Court Urban Food Park on Hogan Street, where food trucks line up on weekdays midday.
On his lunch break, Nicholas Campanini was browsing the grocery selection on tables and in refrigerators set up outside the truck. He had an onion and some mangos and was walking toward the meats.
“They have grass-fed beef,” Campanini said. “It’s a lot better than the normal stuff that I buy so that’s what I’m going to make tonight.”
Campanini said he works just two blocks away and also lives downtown, where there’s one grocery store, a Harvey’s. He said he’ll be taking advantage of Saturiwa on Wednesdays when the truck’s at The Court.
That beef he bought is from Callahan. In fact, many of the groceries at the Saturiwa Trading Company are from nearby, said store manager Michael Stowers.
“Our whole schtick is good food,” Stowers said. “It just so happens that a lot of the good food is coming right out of this region.”
He said his wife started the business in November. The truck already travels to businesses and festivals and he’s been helping run it since its debut.
Items on display include honey from Mandarin, cheese and milk from Wainwright, a Live Oak dairy, and black garlic from St. Augustine, made by a man named Fred Berge.
Stowers lifted the top off the glass container of garlic and took a sniff.
“Isn’t that nice?” he said. “It takes about 45 days to get that way.”
On the same table, he pointed out corn puffs made in Jacksonville by a company called Clara’s.
He opened the bag to offer samples, like he does with dozens of items at the checkout table.
Stower said a customer favorite is the $25 Ribault Box, filled with a weekly or sometimes daily changing variety of produce and herbs.
The truck will be at the food court every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The company also delivers around town.
Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride.
