As a Pride Month supporter, Onslow food truck owner believes she's being targeted again

Jeanette Georgitis believes her food truck is being vandalized for the second year in a row for supporting Pride Month, and she's worried about what's to come.

Georgitis owns Salty Sistas, a Sneads Ferry restaurant, and after being subjected to weeks of vandalism during 2021's Pride Month, she believes it's happening again. After taking the truck to the Jacksonville Pride Festival on Saturday, June 4, Georgitis and her staff came in the following Monday morning to find the plug to the truck had been unplugged and wound tightly around the propane tank.

"I thought, well they're really upping their game this year," Georgitis said, adding she immediately worried about all the food in the truck. "I go in, everything was thawed out and bad, like refrigerator, freezer, everything was done."

Previous coverage: Owners of Sneads Ferry food truck believe they're being targeted after supporting Pride Month event

Georgitis said she estimated a loss of about $2,700 worth of food, which also had to be replenished.

"It had to have been the night before, I'm thinking anywhere from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and everything was just destroyed," Georgitis said. "I'm so sick of it. Instantly, I started to cry."

She said she began unwrapping the plug from the propane tank, not even thinking about the fact it could blow up on her. She said it wasn't until later that night that her executive chef said she was lucky nothing happened.

"She's like, 'It had to have been wrapped around the propane tank for a reason,' and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I didn't even think of that,'" Georgitis said.

After losing an estimated $30,000 last year in damages and cancellations, she believes it can't be a coincidence.

On top of the plug, two of the truck's tires were flat, one of which was brand new. After Georgitis' son came out as gay before last year's Pride Month, she said she's taking it more personal.

'What else is to come'

Before the latest incident, Georgitis was optimistic.

"Another great year of my son saying, 'Wow, I feel so comfortable, and I feel like it's family here,'" Georgitis said about the festival. "You try to go away with that, such a great, feel-good feeling, and then this happened."

Georgitis said although they didn't catch the vandal last year, she has a hunch it's the same person. Although they had put cameras up, Georgitis said they missed who did the damage by a foot from the cameras' view.

She said she contacted her friend, deputy Terri Baker, at the Onslow County Sheriff's Office, who said he'd have people riding around more, and stopping by when possible. Chief Deputy Colonel Chris Thomas said Georgitis has not filed a report as of Thursday.

Thomas said Baker suggested to Georgitis she might want to file a report, but she did not indicate she wanted to.

"We do not have an active investigation into it," Thomas said. "However, if she did file a report with us, we will look into it. And from what I can determine, it apparently does not have a connection to the previous incident."

He said because of the trouble Salty Sistas has seen, the department has and does try to keep an eye on the property, but haven't seen anything.

"I cried so much this year, I think more of what else is to come, and why me, like why are you coming after me when I'm just doing what we always do," Georgitis said. "I'm just saying we don't care who you are, we just want to love freely."

As far as Georgitis, or anyone else knows, Salty Sistas is the only business to have been targeted.

Despite this, Georgitis said they have a 16-year-old and her girlfriend who are coming to work for Salty Sistas, because it's their first job and they feel comfortable there. Georgitis added she just wants it to be a safe place to work.

She said the girls said despite the attacks, knowing Salty Sistas supports the LGBTQ+ community, makes them believe Georgitis and staff will do everything to make them feel safe.

"It made me so sad to think this is really towards people like my son, and then thinking that you're telling me I should, what, forsake my son because of who he chooses to love?" Georgitis said. "That's just not who we are. I feel like they're wanting us to shut our mouths and that's also what we're not about. Salty Sistas is always about the underdog and who are we going to help next, and it's never going to be about hate, that I can tell you."

She said she doesn't understand it because she doesn't have that kind of heart.

"I think for me, if I could meet the person and be like, 'What if this is your sister, your daughter, your aunt, your cousin,'" Georgitis said. "I just don't believe that God makes mistakes, and what is the problem with us doing what we're doing and you just staying away?"

After the weeks of torment last year, Georgitis said she catches her breath every time she drives by or up to the restaurant, wondering what's waiting for her.

Other local business owner calls incident 'disheartening'

One other local business owner has spoken in support of what has happened to Georgitis and Salty Sistas.

Coffee Haven owner Katie Lee said she saw a post on their Facebook page, and gave Georgitis a call to check in on them and what happened.

"I spoke out to her about it because I love Jeanette, she was one of the first connections I made when I opened Coffee Haven in Sneads Ferry, and our businesses have worked together over the years," Lee said. "I have respect for her as a business owner and can only imagine the frustration she feels when she is just trying to run her business and serve her community."

Lee said she's sad for Georgitis, because it's hard enough managing a business, and then adding something like this on top of it is extra weight she shouldn't have to carry.

More: The Grazing Tray & Coffee Haven brings charcuterie, coffee and love to Jacksonville

"It’s just disheartening," Lee said. "As a business owner, I’ve built my business around being kind, doing good, serving and loving others just as Christ has done for us, despite your situation, circumstances or differences, and I know Jeanette has done the same."

She said that it's unfortunate that someone would go out of their way to create strife for someone, for whatever reason, if that is the case. She added that since becoming a business owner, she's had to develop more of a backbone, because people will easily take advantage of you, or think you're supposed to keep quiet. 

Lee also said she's learned that you can't make everyone happy, but we're all human who deserve to be treated as such.

"I think as a business owner, you have a platform and the ability to serve and use it as you desire," Lee said. "I always strive to use my platform for the better good and to make a difference. We don’t have to always see eye to eye on things; we never will, but we can choose kindness."

Giving everyone a voice

Georgitis said everybody needs a voice, adding that every time the vandals hurt her financially, it hurts her giving back to the community.

She said that's what Pride Month is all about, to show people that it's about love, allowing everybody the right and the freedom to love anybody they want. 

Jacksonville Pride Month: What to know about the upcoming county festival, other events

"Truth or not, this is a hate crime, no matter what," Georgitis said. "You're doing damage for whatever reason, I don't think it's too much of a coincidence that it happened last year and it happened this year."

To the person or people doing this to her business, she asks that they get to know her and why she does the things she does. She said it's not about how people are living their lives, but she wants people to be able to live freely and wants to support that, no matter what that looks like.

"We're just an all encompassing family-run restaurant," Georgitis said. "We aren't out to hurt anybody, we want everybody to have a fair chance, and come meet me. Come see why I am the way that I am and then perhaps, we can find some kind of common ground."

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow food truck owner believes truck was vandalized for 2nd year