By: Isabella Kicklighter
Bessie's on the Move parked off Osborne Road Saint Mary's, Georgia. Dylan Kaiser and mother Dawn Kaiser are co-owners of
Bessie's on the Move, a food truck that serves delicious American classic dishes with a twist.
Dylan and her mother Dawn are chatting before prepping the truck for the day. The Kaisers start their day at 10 am at their commissary which they store all food and prep the truck before driving to various locations for the day.
Dawn is talking to Dylan about preparations for the day. Dawn usually does all the food prep in the morning before the truck opens, while Dylan preps and works in the truck during the day.
Dawn is chopping lettuce for all the sandwiches. All food must be stored and prepped inside of a commissary, which is a building of some sort that serves as storage and has proper refrigeration for the food, in order for the food truck to meet Georgia Food Service requirements.
Dawn is placing the lettuce into a container that will be stored and transferred to the truck. The truck gets so many orders during the day, the Kaisers have to make sure they prepared ample food in order to fill all the food orders.
The lettuce is waiting to be covered and taken to the truck.
Bessie's on the Move is open between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then the kaisers take a break to restock the truck in order to open again for dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Dylan takes all the food her mom prepared for the lunch hours and is loading it into the food truck. Before the truck opens Dylan usually preforms the opening chores on her own, always keeping the same routine each day to make sure nothing is forgotten.
Dylan is loading the frozen food onto the truck and into the freezer inside. Not only does Dylan prepare the truck each day she also does all the cooking on the truck and gained her cooking skills from her grandmother growing up in Pennsylvania.
Dylan is driving the truck to its first location. The story of
Bessie's on the Move began just after Covid first hit back in 2019, the kaisers downsized from a two story restaurant to a bright red food truck.
Dylan is filling the truck with gas to keep everything running for the entirety of the day. "Opening for the day in a truck is definitely different than a restaurant, instead of turning on the light I have to fill the tank with gas each day, plus there's no AC in the truck!"
The gas is filling the tank which fuels the truck and appliances inside. The truck has a traditional restaurant stove and fryer station with the refrigerator nestled in the back of the truck, the size of the kitchen only allows for two people to be inside the truck working at a time.
Dylan puts the gas back into the trunk of the truck. In southeast Georgia the heat has been at an all time high and with the lack of AC Dylan claims she sweats so much that she lost ten pounds in just a few months!
The truck is parked at its lunch location which is just feet away from the commissary at the end of the parking lot. The challenges of running a food truck are not for the faint of heart but the Kaisers are always up for the challenge, the physical toll of lifting, driving the massive food truck from place to place and heat exhaustion are just a few challenges they meet each day.
It's opening time and customers are already lined up. The opened door means its time for business,
Bessie's on the Move's popularity comes from the relationships Dylan builds with her customers, she makes a point to talk with her customers old and new when they visit the truck making each person who comes to enjoy her food leave feeling like family.
A Bessie's regular from the car detailing location nearby orders his food. If new comers or returning customers want to skip waiting in the heat they can call ahead and order their meal for pick up at the truck.
Dylan constructing a chicken caesar wrap. Because Dylan once had a restaurant she knows the importance of meeting the needs of customers, so to make sure no one ever misses Bessie's Dylan makes a point to be at most events that take place in town for the community the most recent being the Fourth of July fesitival.
The prep station in between orders. During the midst of the day Dawn usually goes home while Dylan can be found in the truck prepping sandwiches and manning the fryer.
Elle taking orders over the phone. Dylan isn't without help she has high school sophomore Elle who mans the cash register, takes all orders and greets customers on the truck.
Elle and Dylan chat between the rush of orders. Toward the end of the lunch hours Dylan prepares the truck to move locations by securing all loose items and turning off all appliances during the move.
The food truck ready to be on the move. It's 2 p.m. and time to shut down for a short break before the next opening after today the Kaisers and Elle will repeat it all tomorrow changing the location of the truck each day, the schedule for where the
Bessie's on the Move where be during the week can be found on the
Bessie's on the Move facebook page at the beginning of each week.
