From food truck to storefront: Lakeland couple find their niche in crafted beef jerky

Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger
·3 min read
Talisa Mixon and her husband, Justin, have opened a brick-and-mortar Mixon's Beef Jerky shop at 1745 E. Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland. The couple started out with a food truck. The shop gives them space to make more varieties -- 16 in all -- plus hot to-go items.
Talisa Mixon and her husband, Justin, have opened a brick-and-mortar Mixon's Beef Jerky shop at 1745 E. Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland. The couple started out with a food truck. The shop gives them space to make more varieties -- 16 in all -- plus hot to-go items.

A pair of Lakeland food truck owners have expanded their mobile operations to a full brick-and-mortar storefront overlooking Lake Parker.

Justin Mixon and his wife, Talisa, have opened Mixon's Beef Jerky at 1745 E. Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland to have more space to prepare an extensive 16 varieties of beef jerky.

"We started out last year as a food truck," Talisa said. "In less than one year, we outgrew it. We got really busy, fast with more and more orders coming in. We needed a bigger space to cook outside the truck."

The couple have limited experience in the restaurant or food industries, but have hustled and dreamed of owning a business together.

It all started coming together when Justin said he decided after years of snacking on beef jerky to see if he could make it at home, without some of the added ingredients.

"Every time I went to the store, I would get some beef jerky," he said. "Some people get chips, I get beef jerky."

Justin said his first experiments at his home kitchen didn't work out, something just didn't taste right. So he asked Talisa to step in.

Justin Mixon, a big fan of beef jerky, tried making some at home, but it didn't turn out right. So Talisa Mixon added some spices and seasoning on it and the jerky became an instant hit with family and friends.
Justin Mixon, a big fan of beef jerky, tried making some at home, but it didn't turn out right. So Talisa Mixon added some spices and seasoning on it and the jerky became an instant hit with family and friends.

"It was beef jerky, but the taste just wasn't there," he said.

Talisa threw some spices and seasoning on it, and the homemade jerky quickly became a hit with family and friends. Prior to making it for her husband, Talisa Mixon said she had never eaten beef jerky before.

"I just come from a family that likes to eat and we like to cook," she said, laughing.

Talisa said her family had a tradition of holding big Southern-style family dinners on Sundays while she was growing up. They still do, more occasionally, now that everyone's grown up.

Alongside the jerky, the Mixons offer loaded beef jerky nachos and loaded beef jerky French fries, which include shredded jerky, jalapenos, tomatoes and sour cream. Other items include funnel cake fries, homemade banana pudding and a variety of fruit lemonades.
Alongside the jerky, the Mixons offer loaded beef jerky nachos and loaded beef jerky French fries, which include shredded jerky, jalapenos, tomatoes and sour cream. Other items include funnel cake fries, homemade banana pudding and a variety of fruit lemonades.

The couple launched their food truck in July 2023 in their shared hometown of Plant City. It quickly grew and their food truck has regularly been at Keel and Curley's festivals, the Downtown Auburndale Market and occasionally the Winter Haven Farmers Market.

With growing success, Talisa said she left behind her corporate job working for GEICO in Lakeland to manage the food truck's expansion into a brick-and-mortar store.

The storefront, overlooking Lake Parker, allows the couple to keep a wide selection of beef jerky on hand alongside hot to-go food items. Talisa said the honey heat flavor is the couple's best seller.

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"It's the most popular, as people like the sweet and spicy together," she said.

Justin said he's more of an "old-school, traditional" guy who prefers keeping it simple with a pepper beef jerky.

Alongside the jerky, the Mixons offer loaded beef jerky nachos and loaded beef jerky French fries. They take two different bases, nachos or French fries, and add shredded original-flavored beef jerky with jalapenos, tomatoes and sour cream. Other items offered for sale include funnel cake fries, homemade banana pudding and a variety of fruit lemonades.

The storefront, overlooking Lake Parker, allows the Mixons to keep a wide selection of beef jerky on hand alongside hot to-go food items. Talisa said the honey heat flavor is the couple's best seller.
The storefront, overlooking Lake Parker, allows the Mixons to keep a wide selection of beef jerky on hand alongside hot to-go food items. Talisa said the honey heat flavor is the couple's best seller.

The couple hope the new storefront will prove popular with Lake Parker boaters, as it's close to the public launch ramp and offers easy on-site parking.

"Hopefully in the future we can grow to expand to different locations," Talisa said. "Someone from Winter Haven reached out to me to launch a spot over there, but I just launched one here in Lakeland."

Mixon's Beef Jerky is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Its website at mixonsbeefjerky.com offers options to schedule food pickup, delivery and shipping on available items.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland couple takes leap of faith, opening Mixon's Beef Jerky store