St. Louis-area teenager will open Flower Coffee Collective food truck in Flint Hill this summer

Nineteen-year-old Faith McDonald is going for gold. While finishing up her degree in health science from University of Missouri and working on her first worship album in Nashville, McDonald decided to launch the coffee truck of her dreams.  

“I’ve wanted to do this since high school, and I made a deal with my dad that I would finish college before I decided to open up a restaurant just to make sure I had explored all of my career pathways,” McDonald said.

After finding a converted 1960s Nomad camper for sale in Maryland, McDonald and her dad agreed that now was the time to start her business, and they made the 40-hour trek to collect it. The already-branded Flower Coffee Collective truck fits right in with McDonald’s vision. 

“The outside was too cute to change, but I started my own LLC in Missouri, so it’s a completely independent business with shell of the old one,” she said. “[The original owners] created a culture of coffee plus community, and I love that, so I’m gonna take that coffee plus community that they created and grow it. I want to do events like having yoga on Saturdays or having painting, where people can come together and talk and make friends and know that there’s a place where they belong at the end of a hard day or at the beginning of a Monday.”

Right now, McDonald is working full time on hiring staff, developing her original menu, and getting the truck into working order. Her menu will have a health-conscious focus while still providing some indulgent options. The Golden Hour Latte will have caramel, sea salt, white chocolate and a vanilla cold foam topping. Outside of classic coffee options, McDonald will offer drinks made with Lotus Energy concentrate, smoothie bowls and green juices. There will also be doughnuts and other pastries from a local bakery called Friendship Farms. 

The coffee is sourced from Quincy, Illinois-based Electric Fountain Brewing Co., which prides itself on finding high-quality, single-origin beans and paying farmers above market price to ensure fair labor conditions. “It’s farmed without pesticides or chemicals, so it not only tastes great but is healthy too,” she said. 

She’s hoping to be able to sell wildflower bouquets as well. “I’m growing a wildflower garden now and hope to be able to sell them if I have a green thumb – we’ll see if they grow,” she said.

While McDonald has worked in restaurants and coffee shops, among other jobs, since she was 15 to earn her startup capital of over $30,000 all by herself, she emphasized that her family and community in the greater Troy area have helped her get to where she is today.

“I have a lot of family and community here… the community in Flint Hill is amazing,” McDonald said. “I saw that the people were excited and wanted to support a small, woman-run business. They didn’t want chains, and that really meant a lot to me.”

McDonald plans to open once she receives approval from St. Charles County. The truck will be open from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and will be permanently parked at 5020 Hwy. P in Flint Hill. She is hoping to have a soft opening in the next week or two, so keep an eye on social media for updates. She also aims to have a grand opening celebration later in the summer.