Hello Jackson: Eatbox Food Truck
This post was originally published on Hello Jackson on April 22, 2014.
Food trucks have become a staple in bigger cities like Memphis and Nashville, but Jackson is beginning to acquire its own selection of these unique culinary experiences. Eatbox Food Truck is Jackson’s first gourmet food truck, and their menu changes just about every time they set up for an event.
Eatbox’s most popular items are their varieties of gourmet meatballs. In fact, last September the Travel Channel featured their gourmet meatballs in a segment on Bonnaroo, which Eatbox has worked the past three years. Other delicious menu items that you might find at Eatbox are hamburgers, smoked sausage sandwiches, turkey melts, po’boys, fish tacos, and jambalaya. Their cajun fries are also a huge hit! The prices of the entrées usually fall between $4.50 and $6.50. When I visited for lunch, I sampled the turkey melt, and it was fantastic! It was exactly what you expect a turkey melt to be: hot, cheesy, and satisfying. YUM!
Owner Jonathan Coffman decided to pursue his dream of cooking for a living after being hit head-on by a drunk driver. The accident left him unable to work for months, and he lost his job in insurance sales, which gave him the opportunity to do something he’d always wanted to try. Because Jonathan felt he’d rather be his own boss than work as a chef for a restaurant, he decided to go the food truck route. In January of 2013, Jonathan found Eatbox food truck for sale in Asheville, North Carolina. He and his wife Hannah moved it as-is to Jackson, and began serving meals at special events around town. They are looking to set up for lunch more often, and you can check Facebook or Twitter to see where their next lunch will be. In the future they hope to see more food trucks in Jackson so that the community can experience even more variety.
Jonathan has a family history of excellent local business. His grandfather, Paul Coffman, started Coffman’s Furniture sixty-five years ago, and it is still thriving today. “Some of the values that he made a main focus in his business, I have tried to ingrain into my business: quality products, fair pricing, and great customer service,” Jonathan says of his late grandfather. Another great aspect of the business is that they try to buy local when possible, and organic when reasonable. This is one of the best things about shopping locally! Local businesses invest money back into other local businesses, which boosts the economy in our great city. Win/win!
Kristi Woody is a photographer and storyteller for our Hello Jackson features about locally owned retail stores and restaurants. She also works as the university photographer for Union University and owns her own wedding photography business, Woody & Pearl Photography. In her free time, Kristi enjoys spending time with her husband and rambunctious beagle, Rhett and Chipper respectively. If you can't find Kristi in Jackson, you'll find her in her second favorite place: Disney World!
