Crack of Dawn food truck serves brunch items — shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, hash brown, omelets — to hungry customers in South Memphis.
Owner Tamara Lee opened the food truck in 2020 after having been a caterer for more than a decade. "I have operated a Taste & See Cakes & Catering for the past 13 years. When I decided to open a food truck, everyone was like, 'Is it going to be a breakfast truck?' Because there wasn't a breakfast truck in Memphis, so we were the first breakfast truck in Memphis."
Lee also uses the food truck business as a training ground for young people in South Memphis. "We are most about our culinary arts and mentoring program. We serve students, kindergarten to 12th grade. We use the Crack of Dawn food truck as a model to teach the children effective communication, goal setting, time management and financial literacy."
"We pride ourselves in being a hope hub within the community. There are a lot of people that are displaced. There are a lot of people between housing and just some people that are down on their luck. And so, they know that they can come to the Crack of Dawn to get a hot meal or an encouraging word," she says.
The truck is primarily located at 765 South Parkway East beginning at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays.
Visit Crack of Dawn on Facebook or text (901)297-7591 to stay updated on days and times of operation.