Traveling Kitchen enjoys continued success in Bradenton
BRADENTON -- The Bradenton-area Traveling Kitchen has found a permanent home.
Or somewhat permanent, anyway. Owners of Traveling Kitchen food truck Jimmey and Gretta Shelton opened TK's Java Sweets, a breakfast and lunch cafe, in February and said their affinity for taking food requests keeps customers returning even in off-season months.
They still operate the food truck Tuesday through Friday to visit different Manatee County businesses. When the truck parks in front of Star2Star Communications, Jimmey Shelton said typically 80 to 100 employees eat lunch from the truck. They recently began serving the lunch hour crowd at Air Products Port Manatee and word-of-mouth led a corporate park in Palmetto to request their services. Healthcare IQ and MedTel Services will have the opportunity to try Traveling Kitchen's Latin style pulled pork and Cuban sandwiches come Monday.
And while Jimmey and Gretta Shelton love the "food truck lifestyle" as they call it, Jimmey Shelton said he always wanted to open a breakfast and lunch cafe. He said West Bradenton was missing a fresh, healthy and quality breakfast and lunch option. He finds the dinner hour "too competitive."
What sets TK's Java Sweets apart from the rest? "No" isn't in their vocabulary.
"The fact that we don't say no gives customers something they can't get at a corporate facility," Jimmey Shelton said. "It's hard to get chains to customize without charging an arm and a leg. There's nothing we will not make for you."
Chef Dustin Brown said he likes the freedom he has with customizing orders.
"That's why I like working here; because I get to make what people actually want," Brown said. He's enrolled in Manatee Technical College's culinary program.
The couple had their eye on the 1,100-square-foot spot at 3985 Cortez Road for a while, Gretta Shelton said.
"We just kind of took the leap and had to change everything in here," she said. It took about a month to renovate the space and set up seating for 38 to 40 people.
Traveling Kitchen and TK's Java Sweets will put Jimmey's signature "wah-sum" sauce on anything if a customer requests it. The sweet, tangy barbecue sauce is suitable for TK's roasted pulled pork or grilled chicken, or even a Cuban sandwich.
Brown used to work at Jose's Real Cuban Food and said even though Jose Baserva's Cuban sandwich was featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," the Traveling Kitchen's still beats it.
"It's the best Cuban sandwich in town, better than Jose's and Cafe Havana's," Brown said.
The Traveling Kitchen's Cuban sandwich begins with bread baked especially for Cuban sandwiches at a bakery in Tampa.
The crispy bread is topped with juicy, tender roast pork. slices of ham and Swiss cheese, mustard and crunchy pickles. A panini press finishes the job and if it's asked for, a ramekin of "wah-sum" sauce is placed on the side for dipping.
James Magee and his mother, Daniela, were visiting from Ireland and stopped in for breakfast on their second day in Bradenton. They enjoyed the food so much they returned for lunch the following Thursday.
"I tried my sister's BLT because there are different types of bacon and in America, you have this crispier bacon and it has a really nice flavor to it," James Magee said as he dug into the stacked BLT.
For breakfast, the cafe serves individual-sized quiches, made-to-order waffles and pancakes and baked goods. They recently began an all-you-can-eat pancakes special and Brown said he'll make all-you-can-eat pancakes in any variety: blueberry, chocolate chip or hearty bacon pancakes. No matter the flavor, the price for all-you-can-eat pancakes remains $5.49.
Jimmey Shelton starts his days at about 5 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday to bake the scones and muffins. At the end of the day if the baked goods haven't been sold, the Sheltons give them away to surrounding businesses.
TK's Java Sweets is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
If traffic at the restaurant picks up enough during season, TK's Java Sweets plans to open Tuesday and Sunday as well. The cafe also offers take-out options.
Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.
This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Traveling Kitchen enjoys continued success in Bradenton."