Caribbean Taste/Area 509 celebrates 6 years

APPLETON, Wis – (WISS) – The chilly temperatures and occasional drizzle did not dampen the celebrations at Area 509 in Appleton this weekend. Food truck entrepreneur Reggie Desamour celebrated the sixth anniversary of his Caribbean Taste Food Truck and the third anniversary of his brick-and-mortar restaurant, Area 509.

“ We do have some fire pits, so we make sure everybody stay warm out there. The drinks are gonna be cold; the foods are gonna be warm, and I feel like when you’re dancing, you don’t even feel the cold,” Desamour said before the event began.

Desamour started his food truck enterprise with a truck he built himself, using Youtube videos as a how-to. Now he sells Haitian food from the Caribbean Taste Food Truck throughout the Fox Valley. He added Area 509 in Appleton to the mix three years ago, and this spring marks the opening of the Busted Spud food truck.

Desamour uses the recipes he learned from his mom growing up in Haiti.

“Those came down from my mom. There’s no written recipe. It was just like spending time with her in the kitchen growing up in Haiti. So you gotta learn from your mom,” Desamour said. “My mom always says, ‘We never know where we gonna end up in life.’ So we gonna have to learn how to cook, clean, and make sure that we can take care of ourselves. So now it becomes a business.”

Desamour adds that while some Caribbean cuisine can be considered spicy, people shouldn’t be afraid to give it a try. 

“ When people see Caribbean food, they assume it’s all spicy. It’s all like gonna burn the face. But we, we don’t cook like that. The food actually has a good taste. It just has a little kick. Like, you know, that makes you wanna grab a drink and just,feel like you in the Caribbean,” he said.

The Caribbean Taste and Area 509 Anniversary celebration featured music from Luma Knotty, Josoundtrack, and Gizzae as part of the festivities.