In September 2021, when their business was forced to close because of financial challenges, friends and family donated to their GoFundMe, raising more than $20,000 to reopen.
At the same time, Mr. Sankofa was an executive chef and Ms. Gambarian was a pastry chef, working to help open the Cree Wine Company, a wine bar in Hampton, N.J. This past February, they won a $10,000 grant for Black-owned businesses from the New York Jets’ partnership with Visa.
This year they competed on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” making it to the season finale, which aired this past summer.
Mr. Sankofa proposed to Ms. Gambarian on the same hiking trail on Nov. 6, 2020, two years after their first date on the same day.
One year later, on Nov. 6, 2022, the couple were married. Mashall McFadden, the mother of Mr. Sankofa’s childhood friend, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church, officiated. A close friend of Ms. Gambarian ensured the Zoom call with her parents and best friend in Ukraine worked throughout the celebration.
Colonial Grill, a local food truck, provided wings, cheese steaks and burgers for the reception.
The couple also played a Ukrainian wedding game, where the bride and groom both bite into a piece of baked bread called korovai. Whoever bites the biggest piece would be “the leader” in their relationship, Ms. Gambarian said. Mr. Sankofa won, but, together, they agreed to meet in the middle, balancing work and love.
