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Established in 2021, Cups Up is a fine dining food truck run by Chef Shawn “Wimbo” Wimberly and his fiancé, Gigi Sabra. With the goal of making fine dining more accessible, some of the truck’s staples are the bang bang shrimp, brisket mac and cheese, and the loaded turkey leg. The food truck is another feather in Wimbo’s culinary cap. 

“We generated this menu because it was unique,” Wimbo said. “It touches a lot of different ethnicities and things of that nature because I got a lot of infused dishes on there. We wanted to incorporate a mix, but definitely provide something that’s delectable for individuals’ palettes.”

Wimbo and Sabra began calling Suffolk home a little over a year ago and said they had no problems bringing the truck to the city. 

“When we went out there, it just snapped,” Wimbo said. “And people were just blown away because of the menu items on a food truck.”

He said 90% of people who eat at the truck for the first time ask if they have a brick and mortar store. While they just have the truck right now, Wimbo and Sabra said if the opportunity arises, they would definitely want to open a storefront.  

During his 21-year career in the Navy, he experimented with other hobbies that he could pursue after the Navy. Cooking was the one that stuck. Wimbo graduated from the Culinary Institute of Virginia in 2012 and in 2014, he started a personal chef business. He also dabbled in the restaurant business, but quickly realized he enjoyed a more intimate style of cooking.

It wasn’t long before he started winning awards. In 2013, he won the March of Dimes Best Dessert title and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. Tidewater Top Chef Culinary Extravaganza in 2015. More recently, he won the 2023 War of The Wings, placed third in the Virginia Beach 2023 She Crab Soup competition, and placed second in the 2022 Mac and Cheese Festival.

“By getting these small little accolades under my belt, it made me realize that really what we were doing was good,” Wimbo said. “People really fell in and supported it and came behind it, because at the end of the day, everybody got to eat. And if you got great food, that’s just a match made in heaven.”

Sabra also went to culinary school in 2013 and shares Wimbo’s passion for cooking. Sabra said her whole family is involved in the restaurant business, so she also planned on following suit.

The truck also occasionally becomes a family affair, with their kids sometimes helping out as well. Other than the kids, Wimbo and Sabra have one other employee.

Phoenix Hearn has been working on the truck for two years and has really enjoyed getting to work and learn from Wimbo.

“It’s good food and he has such a great personality,” Hearn said. “It’s such a well-rounded experience.”

Hearn has also personally witnessed how the public “goes crazy” over the truck and said someone recently drove down from Richmond specifically to get a loaded turkey leg, which “wows you when you see it.”

Overall, Wimbo said they are “blessed” to have been able to transition so smoothly from restaurants to the food truck, and he’s thankful for the following he’s gained over the years that aided in that transition.   

“Suffolk community, Cups Up loves you,” Wimbo said.