PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship is expected to provide local businesses with a huge boost. Local restaurants with food trucks at the event say they’ve seen some of the economic boom.
Cooks at Twisted Oakie food truck worked the lunch rush in the winter heat, serving up smoked barbecue and Tacos and taking in a whole lot of cash.
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“I would estimate that during the week we profit at least 20 or 30% more off The Players,” Kevin Hopfer said.
The mercury hit the 90s on Wednesday, perfect for Ponte Vedra’s Rita’s Italian Water Ice, whose truck came all the way from Savannah.
“This..This could be a 25 or 30%, you know, increase in our revenue compared to our store. It’s tremendous,” Scott McLaughlin from Rita’s Italian Water Ice said.
People dining out on their disposable income might be a welcome sight. An October 2025 YouGov report found that 37 percent of Americans are eating out less than they did in 2024, citing high costs. Likewise, a consumer price index report found a nearly 4 percent increase in restaurant prices from September of 2025 vs 2024.
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Maria Reuda of Alma Mexican food truck in Jacksonville noticed a downtick, but for different reasons…
“It usually dies down during December, January, February, and then it goes up just because, also because you know how people do their resolutions, I’m gonna eat less out,” Reuda explained.
But the money here is good, just ask one of the OG trucks, Mama’s Food, here for a decade now. “Because it’s the players!” truck worker Annett Schultz said.
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