It all started when a short-order cook from Teaneck, New Jersey, and his bride, a girl from Greenwich, hit a car full of nuns on Marine St.
The guy was Ned Pollack, the bride was Joy D’Elia, and they – along with the sisters – made a full recovery.
But the food scene in St. Augustine was never the same.
Pollack was a chef on his way down south. Repairs to his vehicle took longer than expected so he found work at some of the city’s beachside spots, eventually opening his own breakfast place, Malaga St. Depot.
An eclectic, hippie-style joint with menu items like homemade biscuits and hash sitting side-by-side with Eggs Copenhagen and Huevos Rancheros.
Fresh, fun, and inviting. “I’d try anything,” recalls Pollack. “If someone suggested an ingredient or a different way of doing things, why not? I could probably learn something.”
And learn he did. In 1983, Pollack opened Gypsy Cab Co. A rogue place with purple neon signs outside, and no food rules or dress codes inside. Have it your way! Pollack was a food enabler, and people ate it up.
Lines snaked around the block on weekends, and the wait to be seated sometimes took hours. Peter Kenney joined the Gypsy team, serving as Chef de Cuisine for about 5 years, before leaving to open his own restaurant, Purple Olive.
In 2001, Pollack sold Gypsy to his restaurant manager, Patrick Morrissey and, in 2021, Morrissey turned it over to Frank O’Rourke.
The owners all changed, but the Gypsy name stayed the same. The same hippie heart, the same quirky charm, and the same maverick menu. But the wanderer seemed, somehow, a little more subdued. Still, the news of the most recent sale shook the St. Augustine community. Sold again!
This time to Chef Peter Kenney of Purple Olive fame. He is “family” which made the blow a little easier to bear. But the Gypsy Cab name will retire, at least for now, and a part of St. Augustine’s history will take a back seat.
And what about founder Ned Pollack? Long retired, Pollack spends his time authoring a series of cookbooks, and lending his legendary culinary skills to a variety of nonprofits.
How does he feel about this one last change? “I think it’s a good fit. Peter Kenney is the perfect person. Hard-working and talented with a real dedication to our community,” he told The Citizen”
St. Augustine seems to agree. And the legends live on.
For a copy of Ned Pollack’s cookbook with all your Gypsy favorites in it, go here.
