This video story reported and produced by Emari Craft. Web editing by Abigail Ramshaw.
Slush City is open in Lakeland and business is booming. Residents can enjoy handcrafted foods and drinks made by a talented member of the community. Only 35% of black-business owners are women, and Kimberly Westbrooks is one of those trailblazers.
Westbrooks, the owner of Soul City Catering (also known as Slush City Catering), started small. Before expanding her business to serve her authentic soul foods, she offered only a handful of treats for her customers.
“I’m going to do the nachos and slushies,” she said. “That’s what stuck. And people who knew I could cook, they was like, where is the food lady? And I was like, I just want to give you a snack and send you about the way.”
Now Westbrooks sells a larger variety of snacks and meals for her customers, including fried tacos, custom-mixed slushies, oxtails and chef salad.
“I’m doing everything liked baked spaghetti and Salisbury steak,” she said. “You know, some of everything.”
With the sudden impact of COVID-19, many food and beverage services suffered. About 58% of black business owners said the financial health of their businesses was at risk during the pandemic. Between February and April of 2020, black business ownership declined more than 40%. However, Westbrooks believes her determination and faith helped her avoid financial hardships.
“God is the forefront of my business,” she said. “I cannot do, and I’m not doing, none of this without him.”
According to IBISWorld, there has been an 11.5% increase in food truck establishments in the U.S. this year. Fortunately, Westbrooks chose one of the best states to sell her soul food. Florida holds the third-place spot for most food trucks in the country.
Check out Soul City Catering on Facebook to find out where you can grab a bite to eat or a slushy to slurp on.
Westbrooks isn’t afraid to add to her list of loyal customers. She’ll call out to people on the street just to get their attention.
“If I see you on the corner [I’ll say] hey do you want to get something while I’m over here,” she said. “That’s how I get a lot of my business. If it was not for me opening my mouth, I would not get a lot of the business that I get.”
