Black restaurant owners in Alachua County are serving up more than just delicious meals — they're sharing stories of resilience, passion and drive.
Antonio Jefferson, the 36-year-old owner of Swamp Religion, got his start at The Swamp Restaurant in Gainesville under Ron DeFilippo, the restaurant’s founder.
Jefferson worked his way up, moving from washing dishes to preparing salads to working as a line cook to eventually becoming the kitchen manager. He ran the kitchen for several years and learned a lot about business management and the food industry from DeFilippo, Jefferson said.
A few years later, Jefferson showed up for work only to be told he was fired. When he asked DeFilippo the reason why, DeFilippo said it was time for him to venture off on his own. He advised Jefferson to start a food truck.
And so began Swamp Religion.
The transition wasn’t too difficult, Jefferson said, but developing the menu and navigating the business side of things took a lot of time and effort.
“Your salary really depends on your hustle,” Jefferson said. “You’ve got to figure it out, get up and go to work every day. You’ve got to build a brand.”
Jefferson formed many close friendships with other Black restaurant owners, and they frequently support each other, he said. If one of them is double-booked, they’ll call each other to see if someone can step in and help cover.
While having a close-knit community is helpful, passion and drive are essential when pursuing business ventures, Jefferson said.
“Make sure you love what you do,” he said. “If you don't have a passion for it, I wouldn’t do it. It's gonna take a lot from you.”
Terrell’s Bar-B-Que
In January of 2000, Lesia Beard and her husband opened their food truck business, Terrell’s Bar-B-Que, in Gainesville.
The pair started out in Ocala, but it didn't work well, 64-year-old Beard said. Business started booming when they moved to Gainesville.
“We were selling maybe an 18-wheeler truckload of ribs, 50 cases a week,” she said. “It was a lot, and so we were very successful.”
Her husband’s family loves to cook, she said, which inspired Beard and her husband to start their food truck business.
For the Beards, the restaurant business and love of food runs in the family. Her husband’s brother, Roosevelt Beard, was the owner of Roosevelt’s Barbeque in Ocala. His sister owns a barbeque stand in Tallahassee, and two of his nephews own stands in Panama City and Ocala.
Beard and her husband sell Southern barbecue and side dishes like baked beans, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and coleslaw. Their slogan is “the best ribs in the South.”
One of Beard’s favorite memories of her food truck was their opening day.
“[My proudest moment was] seeing all those people lined up, waiting to taste Terrell's barbecue for the first time,” she said.
D’s Comfort Food
Darcia Morse, the 35-year-old owner of D’s Comfort Food, opened the doors of her food truck in spring 2024.
It was her fiance, Shaka Scott, who inspired her to enter the food industry after recognizing her passion for cooking, Morse said. However, she needed to prove her dedication to him, so she spent a year offering catering services to the Hawthorne community, Morse said.
After that year, her fiance saw her commitment and supported her dream by buying her a food truck.
Morse said she and her husband work together in managing the food truck. Her daughter works with them when she has time off of school.
Morse worked as a nurse prior to entering the food business, but she decided to step away four or five years ago due to health concerns, she said.
Morse has lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease causing inflammation and pain throughout the body. Because the challenges of maintaining a strict work schedule became increasingly difficult for her, Morse said she wanted to become her own boss.
“Within my lupus journey, my biggest strength is just getting up and doing,” she said. “I think positive bias create positive lives, so I just choose to look at the glass half full rather than half empty.”
Morse developed an interest in the food industry after learning to cook for her fiance, she said. During the first year of their relationship, he taught her how to cook Southern cuisine, an area she wasn't very familiar with since she's from New York. However, she’s grown to really love cooking Southern food, she said.
Some of her favorite dishes she’s curated include the macaroni and cheese; the gumbo greens, which combines collard greens with chicken, ham, smoked pork, sausage, shrimp and rice; the double smash burger and the “marry me” chicken, which is chicken coated in a creamy, sun-dried tomato sauce.
A significant part of her culinary journey took place under the mentorship of Tyrone Bennett, the owner of Heart & SoulFood Truck, Morse said.
“[Bennett] really taught me a lot about structure,” she said. “It's a lot to learn. That was definitely a great experience.”
While Morse loves her job, being a Black business owner comes with its unique set of challenges, she said.
When reaching out to other businesses for potential collaboration, there are places that either don't respond to her messages or make her feel unwelcome, she said. While she finds this unfortunate, Morse remains optimistic. She said it’s inevitable, but they just try to stick to where they know to go.
What makes the job truly special to Morse is her customers. She strives to give them nothing but the best, she said, which is why she receives such strong support.
“It's a good atmosphere,” Morse said. “It's a really good, happy atmosphere. And my customers love me. I love my customers.”
Contact Annie Wang at awang@alligator.org. Follow her on X @wynwg.
Annie Wang is a metro general assignment reporter and a second-year journalism major. She has previously worked on the university desk as the university administration reporter. She enjoys reading and writing book reviews in her spare time.
