Community Highlights: Meet Tonya Atkins of Bella’s Concessions & Catering Food Truck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonya Atkins

Hi Tonya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2009 I started a nonprofit organization called Morgan Taylor’s Pack a Sack where we feed our homeless community from my home. We started off giving them brown bag lunches and personal care products. We quickly realized that a hot meal was needed so we started doing “Sidewalk Buffets.” We would set up a table on the sidewalk at Water Street and Grand traverse Street and invite anyone who wanted a hot meal to just show up and eat, no questions asked. I always had a dream to have a food truck and in 2016 I purchased one and we named Bella’s Concessions & Catering. Although Bella’s is a for-profit business we still do our mission work thru the food truck. Bella’s is the longest running food truck in Flint that works on a day to day operation and all year round. We do private and public events, graduations, birthday party, and day-to-day service at standard locations. In the beginning years of Bella’s we struggled a bit trying to find locations to set up at because the food truck industry was so new that a lot of people didn’t understand it. After the community caught on to how convenient it was to them and their workplace we started working with corporations like Job corps, Harley-Davidson, The Crim, Back to the Bricks, Applegate Chevrolet, Catholic charities, Mott college, Wade Trim, Genesee County Health Department,Communities First and a host of others businesses. We also continue to do our community service through Catholic Charities, My Brother’s Keeper and other small organizations.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning it was not a smooth road mainly because I worked a full-time job at Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw. I commuted five to six days a week to Saginaw while working Bella’s four days a week in Flint. I had never worked inside of a restaurant so it was a challenge learning everything from scratch. Being self-taught how to run a food business was hard. I am the first one in my family to own a business and I didn’t want to fail at it. My neighbor owed a BBQ Food truck and he was nice enough to show me the ropes.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Bella’s Concessions & Catering Food Truck ?
Bella’s Concessions & Catering is a Food truck located in Flint Michigan. Bella’s have been open for 9 years come April 2025. We are open all year round! We do all public and private events from festivals, birthday parties, work luncheon, buffets set ups and a host of other things.
We specialize in burgers and fries. We have a house burger called The Bella Burger (fried egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato), Lamb Burger (blue cheese, olives, lettuce, tomato), The Mr Big Stuff( cheeseburger topped with steak and cheese), 12 different loaded fries, steak subs, loaded chicken wings, vegan subs, vegan chicken wings, pitas and 12 flavored lemonades. We also carry Goat dinners and also Lamb dinners. We also have breakfast! Stuffed pancakes and our Lamb Burger is one of our specialty items, but we are known for our Bella Burger. We’re like a diner on wheels. What sets us apart from other food trucks is that we have a unique way of combining flavors and incorporating the traditional and non-traditional food and making it a tasteful experience. What sets us apart from other food trucks is that our menu caters to everyone. We have vegetarian meals, traditional All-American, Jamaican, Italian, Mexican and African dishes. We do breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I am proud of the fact that our community is still supporting us 9 years later. It really feels good to be a Flintstones. We are certified caterers for so many companies around Flint and Genesee county and It’s truly a blessing.
Bella’s will always bring you 100% quality and 100% care. Once you become a customer, you become our family and that’s how you are treated. We strive to always give you the best quality of food. We offer halal, vegan and vegetarian items. Our everyday menu consist of burgers ( lamb, beef, turkey, black bean), pitas, subs, flavored chicken wings, 12 loaded french fries, 12 different lemonades, Goat dinners and Lamb dinners. We offer breakfast too. We have breakfast sandwiches all day long and we also carry Stuffed pancakes, shrimp and grits, French toast, etc. We offer your traditional All-American meals, Jamaican/ Creole, African, Italian and Mexican food.
We will come to your job site, public event, private event, festivals, rodeos, charity events and whatever else you have in mind.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance. Has been a great help with Bellas. The amount of support that I received from them is why I’m still here now. When times got hard they didn’t allow me to give up. With all the free programs and meetings and Expo’s they host helped me to understand not only business but it helps me to understand my business a little bit more. Tracey Joseph (business manager) and Brianna Mosier( director of organizational development) has always been a rock for me. They helped me secure a grant through moving Flint Forward twice.
I first received a $10,000 Grant through Moving Flint Forward in 2021 and also a alumni grant of $5,000 through Moving Flint Forward.

Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, Flint & Genesee Group , Flint and Genesee Business Bridge, Daphne Epps of Mott College, The Crim and Back to the Bricks all have been a great help for Bella’s Concessions & Catering.
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Contact Info:

• Instagram: Bellasfoodtruckflint
• Facebook: MSBELLASLLC
• Twitter: @foodtruckFlint