ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Augustine property owner is pushing back after St. Johns County ordered him to shut down a food truck park on Old Moultrie Road.
The Outpost, located at 2025 Old Moultrie Road, had been a gathering spot for families and local entrepreneurs — hosting food trucks, small vendors and an airbrush art studio. Now, it’s closed.
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“They’re saying that we no longer have retained our vested rights as a commercial property in St. Johns County,” said owner Justin Tahilramani.
According to court records, the county says improvements are needed before food trucks and other vendors can operate on the property again.
“They’re saying, hey, you have to redevelop — if you want to do this, you need to bring us full engineering designs to redevelop your parking lot, to connect to utilities you’re talking about,” Tahilramani said. “They want us to spend millions of dollars to activate this in the interim as a food truck park.”
Court records show that in August 2025, Tahilramani was told by county planners he could not move forward until the site was properly developed. The property previously had a structure on it that Tahilramani demolished. Records show that by March 2026, the building was gone, and food trucks were operating without paved parking or restroom facilities on site.
Records also note that an airbrush artist on the property operates out of a shipping container, which the magistrate ruled is an unpermitted use without a main structure present.
Tyler Melfi, who runs an airbrush studio at The Outpost, says the closure has a direct financial impact on him.
“Well, you know, I spend almost all the money I make, aside from my bills, on these — the food vendors,” Melfi said.
Even though Tahilramani says he plans to eventually develop the property into a container-style venue and bring it up to code, he says right now he is fighting to keep the food truck vendors operating in the meantime.
“The whole purpose of this was a place where families and communities can gather,” he said. “The whole purpose of The Outpost was to provide a platform for small businesses to be able to grow and thrive. And I’m not going to abandon the vendors that are out here right now.”
According to the court record, it is scheduled to be reheard on May 13, 2026.
The record says failure to comply with the order could result in fines and liens against the property.
News4JAX reached out to St. Johns County for comment. The county acknowledged it was working on a response but did not provide one before publication.