Lincoln community rallies around food truck owner to help her start over after fire

LINCOLN, Ill. (WAND) — In May, Ami Cleveland's dream of running her own food truck came to a halt when her truck burned down.

Cleveland had opened Ami-gos Tacos in the truck, lovingly called "Big Purple," about nine months prior.

After the fire, the Lincoln community rallied around Cleveland. Local restaurants dedicated part of their profits to Cleveland and other businesses offered their services for free. All of this made it possible for Cleveland to re-open Ami-gos, this time as a brick and mortar location, located at 124 S. Chicago St. in Lincoln.

"It's taken a lot of patience, a lot of just trusting the process because we completely gutted this place and flipped it," said Cleveland. "It took us four months and we anticipated it taking two months."

The location gives the Lincoln community a chance to enjoy all of their favorite foods from Ami-gos, as well as a few new additions. The favorites so far include birria tacos and the rice bowls.

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To honor all of the businesses, neighbors, and family members that helped make Cleveland's dream a reality, she has dedicated a wall in the new location listing each person who has been involved.

"It's been very overwhelming," said Cleveland. "Just the amount of shares, the people that show up, know who we are, and are more than willing to just help and give. It really takes a village and we've had a whole army behind us, even bigger than we could have imagined."

Cleveland says they are still getting the hang of things at the new location, so hours and menu items may change. For the most up to date information, check the Facebook Page: Ami-gos' World.