Sweet Temptations Brings Legacy of Food Service to Rogersville
Chelsea Davis from Sweet Temptations Food Truck. Photo by Bud Davis.
The food truck Sweet Temptations may have started a year ago, but Chelsea Davis brings a legacy of food industry knowledge and savvy entrepreneurship to small-town Rogersville.
Chelsea was born in Bulls Gap, TN and is no stranger to hard work and good food. Her Mamaw, Maxine Richards, worked for Southside Restaurant located across from Cherokee High School from the time it opened until well after retirement age. Maxine was known for her homestyle cooking, delicious pies, and mouthwatering biscuit gravy. Chelsea started waiting tables at Southside when she was only 15 years old and served local folks who ate at the family-owned diner.
Chelsea remembers her early days and how her family was always supportive of each other, a value from her upbringing that greatly contributed to her food truck success. As a child, she would play on the swing set with her cousins while the adults worked on the harvest from their tobacco farm. After that, the children would help Mamaw prepare the food for dinner by shucking corn and breaking beans. They would pull the outside of the corn off, and process buckets of farm fresh beans by breaking the ends off the green pods, pulling the strings, and snapping the pod in half. Her family canned everything they grew and enjoyed a much-anticipated feast at the end of the day. Chelsea’s favorite meal was Mamaw’s chicken and dumplings with a side of fresh corn and chocolate pie for dessert.
Chelsea’s family owns an ice cream shop called Golden Dairy in Rogersville where she works full time during the day. She runs the window with her aunties and is helping to cover for a family member who got diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Chelsea had a unique opportunity to work closely with a health inspector for the opening of a new Golden Dairy in Church Hill which was an advantage for starting out successfully in the mobile food industry.
According to an article by smallbizgenius, only 30% of food trucks are owned by women. Their statistics for the industry are daunting, “…around 60% of food trucks go under within three years of opening. The most common causes of shutdowns are bad budget planning, not hiring additional workers, poor customer service, and insufficient advertising.” (20+ Food Truck Industry Statistics: What’s Cooking in 2024? by D. Vasic).
Chelsea’s background and experience prepared her for the challenges of setting up and maintaining her own food truck. Starting Sweet Temptations may have seemed overwhelming at first, but she persevered step by step through the long list of requirements. Chelsea figured out quickly how to acquire all the government permits and licenses, and how to navigate through the financial and tax jargon. Learning through experience, she found that Hawkins County permits are different than the permits for Rogersville City, and events with 4 or more food trucks need special permits. “Other cities require a lot more from food truck owners,” stated Chelsea.
Megan Forbes from the Institute for Justice believes, “Food trucks are important vehicles for economic opportunity,” In 2023, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law HB 814, a bill that gives the food trucks the opportunity to acquire a single, “gold standard” state fire permit. Forbes is optimistic about the changes this law brings, “This reform is a positive step toward simplifying the unnecessary layers of state and local regulations that these small businesses face.” (New Tennessee Law Makes It Easier for Food Trucks to Be Mobile by Andrew Wimer, IJ).
Chelsea is well versed in adapting to food trends and customer preferences. Early on she started selling sandwiches out of her food truck and quickly changed that idea when she realized her clients preferred desserts, nachos, and potato bowls. Chelsea knows how to plan creative menus, while keeping cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction in mind. For example, when she brought her food truck Sweet Temptations to the Dodson Creek Farm Supply Community Market & Animal Swap, Chelsea prepared pancake bowls which were well received by the morning crowd. Maintaining consistent quality in her business while keeping prices fair is important to Chelsea, “Would I pay this much for what I’m serving?” she thinks to herself, “Would I want this if I ordered it? I wouldn’t serve somebody an ice cream cone that I wouldn’t want.”
While managing a successful food truck Chelsea needs to meet the physical demands, long hours, and hard work associated with owning her own business. Working day long events like festivals or double events in one day comes with the territory. Chelsea also needs to keep up with the daily maintenance of the truck and equipment, tracking inventory, preventing wastage, prioritizing cleanliness and proper hygiene standards, and handling mechanical breakdowns and emergency situations. She explained, “I can’t imagine people who just wake up & do this without the experience I have. I don’t know how they make it.”
Chelsea knows how to promote her business and uses social media and collaborates with other local businesses to get the word out. She understands the importance of being creative and adapting to change. Chelsea’s mom has been her biggest inspiration in life. “My mom showed me how to be a strong woman and to do whatever you have to do to survive.” Chelsea makes it a point to watch her hours and prefers smaller events located near her home in Rogersville, so she can spend more quality time with her husband and two-year-old son.
Chelsea dreams of opening her own restaurant someday with her cousin who learned how to make Mamaw’s pies, and ended up taking over the Southside Restaurant until an unforeseen event caused him to sell the business. Chelsea’s food truck is just the start of her journey to her ultimate destination. She loves having her family help with her business because they understand the food industry and how it works. When Chelsea opens her own restaurant, she plans to take care of her family & return the favor for all the times they have been there for her.
You can find Chelsea at the next Dodson Creek Farm Supply Community Market & Animal Swap on June 15th from 9 am to 1 pm.
To connect with Chelsea, email her at sweet_temptations@myyahoo.com.
The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public interest law firm with the mission to end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams. Visit The Institute for Justice (ij.org) to learn more.
Images from our April market can be found below:
