Courtesy of A Hint of Lime
When Nikki Davis-Voigt, owner and chef of A Hint of Lime Tacos, first moved to St. Francisville in 2017 to care for her elderly great aunt Jean Burnett, Burnett would regularly ask Davis-Voigt’s husband David, “When are we gonna get Nikki that restaurant?” While the couple was working on their first food truck just outside Burnett’s window, she passed away, content seeing that her great niece’s dream of having a food truck was coming to fruition.
“Our other truck was real sentimental for various reasons … it was just an old piece-of-crap Coca Cola trailer at that time. Anyways, Jean was able to look out her bedroom window and when she saw it, she grinned, and she nodded her head, and she passed that night,” Davis-Voigt said, fighting back tears.
Courtesy of A Hint of Lime
The original A Hint of Lime Taco truck, where it all began.
Since then, A Hint of Lime Tacos has become a fixture of St. Francisville’s small-yet-mighty food scene, the lone local taco truck, popping up at the Oyster Bar and various community events in St. Francisville and Baton Rouge. The couple has also made a mission of feeding around one hundred local first responders free meals for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. And recently, A Hint of Lime received nominations in four categories of 225 Magazine’s Best of 225 Awards for 2023, including Best Food Truck, Best Mexican, Best Caterer, and a nomination for Best Chef for Davis-Voigt (who is the only woman on that list of nominees).
Unfortunately, on January 7 of this year, the truck was struck and totaled as the Davis-Voigts drove home from serving. The couple was devastated; Davis-Voigt’s “Barbie dream kitchen” they had worked so hard to build was destroyed. But St. Francisville wasn’t about to lose their taco truck, and certainly wasn’t going to let a couple who has done so much for the town go unaided. The community rallied, hosting an auction and fundraiser at the Oyster Bar on February 5 to raise money to help the Davis-Voigts replace their truck.
Courtesy of A Hint of Lime.
Tulio and Paige Martinez, pictured with A Hint of Lime owners David and Nikki Davis-Voigt. The Davis-Voigts purchased their new custom-built truck from the Martinezes.
"I'm used to being involved with fundraisers and stuff. But I'm not used to being on the receiving side,” Davis-Voigt said. “It's very humbling. It definitely put me in my spot, to see all the support that we have and all the people here in this town are just so, so awesome.”
New Generation Food Trailers, a Texas-based company that custom outfits food trucks, reached out to the couple and offered to help, too. In March, the Davis-Voigts took a road trip to San Antonio—and signed a contract and made arrangements to get their new custom-made food truck built.
“Baby, this thing is gonna be better than ever,” Davis-Voigt told me.
The couple hopes to have the truck finished and outfitted this spring, with a tentative reopening date of Cinco de Mayo, 2023—location to-be-decided.
