Help Us Make Our Food Truck Dream A Reality

Our names are Coy and Cristiana. We moved to Oklahoma at the end of 2020 after living and working in Maryland for five years. When the pandemic was declared in early 2020 we both lost our Maryland jobs (and sadly due to the change between corporate and franchise ownership of our store in the same week… no unemployment for us – or anyone else who worked there). We did everything we could to make money on the East Coast during the early part of Covid, thinking the whole thing would just blow over. It didn’t. Jobs were very hard to come by.

We came to Missouri in March 2020 to help Coy’s parents prepare their property for their move to Oklahoma. We planned on staying a few weeks to help, but a few weeks became a few months. Things looked really promising in Missouri in regards to work options, especially when compared to the bleak opportunities in Maryland.

So we decided to move from Maryland to Missouri. We packed everything we had and made our journey. You can read about that on our Facebook page: Coy & Cristiana .

The multiple drives we made from Missouri to Oklahoma to assist with the move of Coy’s parents gave us hours (and hours) to talk and dream. We revisited a dream we’d had since we first met (2015) which was to own a food truck. Since we have over twenty years of restaurant, food and bar experience between us (we both started at the bottom and worked our way to management), we’d always said “someday” we’d have a food truck and eventually own a restaurant of our own.

In the months following our move to Missouri, we did everything imaginable to make money to pay our bills. We scooped poop, dug ditches, cleaned cabins, cleared brush, trimmed trees; we did carpentry work, handyman work, website and computer work, catering and cooking work… and lots of other things. But the more time we spent in Oklahoma, the more we could see the opportunities were even better there, smack dab in the middle of America. So – even though we’d just moved to Missouri - we made the decision to go much further west. We moved to the western side of Oklahoma.

In October we moved to Ames, OK - population 246. We continued our “odd job” self-employment regimen, and spent many evenings in our new happy place gazing at huge sunsets, watching tumbleweeds roll, laughing at road runners, and playing with our cats. Through all this, we still talked about someday... when we’d have a food truck.

Then, an odd thing happened in Ames, OK.

A local guy bought a lot on the main drag, improved the lot by adding water, electricity, gravel and other amenities. A few weeks later he showed up with a bright yellow food trailer which he parked on the lot. He threw up a sign, added some patio lights and picnic tables, and started his food truck business. The MidAmerica Wind Turbine Project is in full swing here in Major County, so there are hundreds of workers driving through our town everyday.

It was shocking to see HIM making OUR dream happen right before our eyes. It sucked. But every time we drove by his business, Coy would say, “Look at that, he’s getting our lot and food truck all set up for us.” We’d laugh, of course, because Coy was joking... but not really.

Then, a few weeks later, an even more odd thing happened.

The guy with the bright yellow food trailer walked into where we were working and asked us if we wanted to buy it!!! He had a full-time management position at a local pork production facility, and said he’d had no idea how much work and time the food truck would take, and wanted out of the business.

To buy the trailer, cover our cash-flow expenses, purchase supplies, insurances, and build the business, we estimate we’ll need $38,475 (plus all of our savings).

We understand the amount of work it will take.  And, yes, we understand that starting a business in the middle of a political upheaval and lock-down pandemic might not seem like the greatest of ideas.  But hard times provide opportunities for those willing to take them. We’ve been provided an opportunity, and we’re willing, able and capable to seize it-- with your help.  We have mentors who have agreed to help us… folks with experience in food trucks, marketing, business, accounting, and navigating being a couple in business together.  

We have a name for our food truck: The Funky Chicken.  We have a menu (mouthwatering) with very fun names for food.  One of our names honors the old retired guys who drink coffee at the long table at the Co-Op every morning.  They call themselves The Dead Peckers Club.  So we’re gonna have a club sandwich named for them.  Other names include the Mother Clucker, Bar-Beak-Que Sauce, and the Astrobleme Blast-- a milkshake honoring the astrobleme that makes Ames, Oklahoma so unique. We’ll also have fabulous buffalo wings, fresh salads, and tasty sides. We created a website: funkychickencafe.com , where you can take a look at our menu, see pictures, and read our full story. We’ve opened a business banking account and filed our paperwork with the State to be an LLC – Limited Liability Corporation (because we BELIEVE this is going to happen!).

We’ve  researched vendors, talked to the health department, and reviewed the State requirements - we’ve reached out to all the folks we’ll need to make this thing fly.  WE’RE READY!  We plan to travel with the trailer to more populated areas, and the guy selling the truck said we could use his lot here in Ames free of charge during the times we’re not traveling – we’d only need to pay for electricity. 

We’re young (26 & 31)… and we’re ready to own our own food business.  We’ve spent many years helping others build THEIR food business, and the opportunity has been provided for us to do it ourselves.  We are hoping you can help us.

We do hope you feel a little tug at your heart to help us.  We firmly believe there will eventually be an entire fleet of Funky Chicken Trucks… and we’ll have Funky Chicken franchise locations around the USA. Anyone successful has to start somewhere, and this is our opportunity to S.T.A.R.T.  

If you can, we’d very much appreciate your financial support, along with your good wishes.

Thank you so much.  We love you.

Coy Funk

Coy began his restaurant career at age 15 when he secured a job washing dishes at Bill’s Fish House in Stillwater, OK. From there he moved to El Chico Mexican Restaurant where he became a line cook. Upon graduation he left home at 18 and moved to Florida, where he failed (hey everyone needs to fail a few times to appreciate making smarter choices!). He came home, went to work for Buffalo Wild Wings, where he worked for 10 years. He went back to Florida and successfully managed Buffalo Wild Wings largest outdoor bar in America in Daytona Beach. After moving to Maryland, he was hired away by a competitor to be the front end manager and team leader of the opening of a very successful, from the ground up, seafood restaurant. Eventually he made his way back to Buffalo Wild Wings Management which is where he was when the pandemic forced the closure of the restaurant.

Cristiana Barboza

Cristiana started her food career at a very early age when she fell in love with feeding people as a young child. Her parents, Air Force veterans who were “foodies” before “foodie” was a word, taught her much about food pairing, cooking and service. She left home at 17 and moved to New York City to pursue a college career in music and acting. She soon learned she hated her college choice, but she loved the New York food scene and started work as a cook/server/barista at RBBTS Cafe. She further honed her skills when she moved to URBO Loft as a Chef Garde Manger. When URBO Loft’s CEO decided to change the direction of the restaurant, Cristiana and her fellow employees were laid off. After months of searching for a job in a recession, Cristiana returned to Maryland. She applied as a server at the same Buffalo Wild Wings where Coy was working, and eventually, along with Coy, was hired away by the same seafood restaurant start-up. She ran the back end while Coy ran the front end. Along with Coy, she eventually made her way back to Buffalo Wild Wings, where she was working when the pandemic forced the closure of the restaurant.

Together, they plan to take everything they’ve learned about the industry over the last fifteen years and apply all those skills to make The Funky Chicken the best little food truck in the area.