Vegan food chef Stacey “Soul” Winters was in the midst of making big moves to expand her business; but her plans changed when the food truck she had been building for three months was stolen from her vegan cafe, Soul Wired Cafe, on Northview Drive in Jackson.

Winters began Soul Wired Café in order to introduce Mississippians to healthy and delicious vegan food, while retaining the essence and richness of Southern cooking.

With well-thought-out food options ranging from “The Ol’ Riley” (a plant-based barbecue sandwich), “The Marley” (a plant-based philly), “Kayla’s NOTchozz” (vegan nachos), “Cooldawgzz” (a flavorful carrot hot dog) – anyone can find a meal they love at Soul Wired Cafe.

For the past three months, Winters has been working with a friend to build their new food truck, lovingly called “Ethel”, named after Winters’ hometown of Ethel.

The goal of the food truck was to aide in the expansion of Soul Wired Cafe to other parts of the state.

She arrived to her café on Wednesday afternoon after working her second job, just to realize that Ethel the Food Truck had been stolen and her garden beds were torn up and thrown on her outdoor seating area.

“Yes, it stings pretty deep,” Winters said.

“It was hard because when I got my stimulus check, I was going to use it to pay up on my bills. But I thought why not invest it into something that can make me more money, and I could pay off my bills that way.”

Now, Winters is asking for the public’s help in locating the stolen food truck.

The food truck resembles a small house. It is perfectly square, and would have to be pulled by a trailer. She believes the food truck has been repainted black.

“Nobody in Jackson has anything similar to what I have. It would be very easy to spot.”

If the food truck is not found, she is asking the community to come together in making a donation to the Soul Wired Cafe GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/ae654671#GM . Funds will towards the purchase of a new food truck.

Winters is working with Jackson law enforcement in uncovering the food truck thief.

“Police have been very helpful in trying to help find the truck,” said Winters. “We have a case number and are still investigating.”

Winters remains optimistic in the future of Soul Wired Cafe, and sent a message to the thief on her Facebook post:
“To the person who took it… I could have made you a Riley Q or something. Stop hating.”

Her attitude remains positive, and she will keep working toward being a positive light in the Jackson community. Regardless of what happens, Winters’ wants her audience to know, “I don’t care how they treat me, I’m going to treat them even better.”

And that’s the attitude of a true frontrunner.

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Original post from Soul Wired Cafe’s Facebook: