PEOPLE OF INTEREST
THE DETERMINED RESTAURATEUR
BY KERRY FIRTH
88
“So I took whatever job made it possible to work on this deli
and still be at home for my kids and help them with homework
and activities.”
She learned about her neighborhood and neighboring
businesses through social media and reached out to them to
learn the culture. She was embraced with open arms. Tessa
of PHATZ Chicken N Shack on U.S. 1 called to say she had
200 buns for her. Michael at Beach Bowls in Downtown Fort
Pierce shared a wealth of valuable information. Dawn and
Patrick at Cool Beans on Delaware and Robert at JYD BBQ
were also part of her cheerleading and support squad who
helped along the way.
“Without the help and input from these fellow entrepreneurs,
I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Hunter said gratefully.
“Each one of them has their own identity and were quick
to help me establish mine. Now it’s time to pay it forward
and help the next entrepreneur.”
Finally, after years of hard work, she opened Tasty Links
in August. Hunter, like most people, loves a super hero and
sometimes felt empowered like a super hero herself, so it was
Sometimes all it takes to succeed is a dream, a lot of grit
and tenacity, and the perseverance to push through
when things aren’t going as planned. Those traits helped
Chivon Hunter turn her dream of becoming a restaurateur
into a reality.
The path wasn’t an easy one and there were detours along
the way, but in her own words the good Lord showed her
which direction to take and now she and her son, Shaun, are
the proud owner-operators of Tasty Links in Fort Pierce.
“I’m originally from Newport, Rhode Island, where chili
cheese dogs are a delicacy,” Hunter said. “I was a psychiatric
nurse for the State of Massachusetts and I knew when we
moved our family down to Florida that I wanted to do something
for myself.
“We landed in Vero and I set up a hot dog cart in front of a
Dollar Store during the day and in front of the Stamp bar at
night. Eventually I moved inside of a gas station and worked
out of a little kitchen. Through it all, I learned how to make it
work without cutting corners. I learned it takes doing things
by the book to be successful.”
The family moved to Fort Pierce about four years ago and
Hunter taught fourth grade at Young Achievers Academy,
but continued scouting out locations for a takeout deli where
she could continue to serve her smoked, loaded hot dogs. She
found her location on Delaware Avenue and set about building
it out by herself.
“My husband is very supportive, but he works in Melbourne
so he wasn’t able to help with the remodeling,” she
confided. “I had to work it out so I used YouTube a lot to show
me how to build and install counters and fixtures. I bought
wood and materials and just convinced myself I could do it. I
paid rent for 10 months before it opened because it took me so
long but I wanted to do this without taking loans.”
When COVID shut down the schools, Hunter took a job as
a driver for Uber and Lyft to finance her dream and didn’t let
a little thing like a pandemic get in her way.
“I was determined to make this happen,” she explained.
RUSTY DURHAM PHOTOS
It took Chivon Hunter 10 months of DIY remodeling before she could open
Tasty Links, her restaurant on Delaware Avenue in Fort Pierce.
>>
Every item on the Tasty Links menu is named after a super hero, including
this super-sized Chicago hot dog, which is called The Batman.