Food truck stolen on Milwaukee's southwest side located in alley
MILWAUKEE - UPDATE: Police recovered the stolen food truck on Wednesday night, Aug. 14. Someone spotted the truck in an alley on Milwaukee's north side after seeing the story on FOX6 News and called police. The owner tells FOX6 that besides some missing aprons and visors, everything was intact.
The original story is posted below.
Thieves stole a Milwaukee woman's food truck before she could even open for business. Now, both MPD and the owner hope the community can help her get it back.
"You can still see the tire marks from where it was parked," said Starlitha Kelly, founder and operator of Vegan Queen.
Kelly bought the food truck in November and put thousands of dollars toward her dream of opening a rolling restaurant.
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"I’ve been vegan for years, and I have always had the dream of reintroducing it to the community," she said. "There was a refrigerator, two food warmers, a burner, a french fry crisper, sinks. I just had everything I needed there to get up and going."
Just before Kelly was ready to open Vegan Queen, someone stole her business.
Starlitha Kelly
"Everything I dreamed about now is gone, and all I have left is these binders," she said.
Milwaukee police said thieves stole Kelly's food truck just before noon on Monday, Aug. 12. It happened in the area of Ruskin and Lakefield on the city's southwest side, a few blocks from 27th and Morgan.
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"All I can envision is people in it, touching things and being happy about it, and celebrating this major loss for me," she said.
Not only did she lose all the money she already spent on equipment and renovations, Kelly said the business was going to be her source of income to get her physician's assistant degree. She's offering even more cash to whoever helps her find it, hoping someone will do the right thing.
"Some type of reward or compensation to get my truck back," she said. "Someone knows something and knows that this is wrong."
Anyone with information is asked to call MPD at 414-935-7360; to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 tips app.