KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
—
Months after a costly mechanical failure sidelined his mobile food business, 16-year-old Frankie Beal, owner of the Mister Dipz food truck, is back on the road.
Beal is able to resume his business thanks to the combined efforts a business owner and an anonymous donor.
His truck sat idle for months after he learned a critical repair on a fuel pump would cost hundreds of dollars.
“I was really, really sad originally when my mom told me," Beal said. "Because again, it felt like it's like a part of me was missing, I guess.”
The recovery began after KSHB 41’s story on Beal aired in September.
An anonymous donor came forward with a $600 check to help with expenses, and Shane Edwards, owner of I‑70 Auto Service, offered to complete the repairs at no cost.
Edwards learned of Beal's problem when his wife saw the news story and shared it with him.
“Actually, my wife saw it on one of your news stories and reached out to me and put it in front of me," Edwards said. We looked into that."
Within a few weeks, the truck ready for business again.
For Beal, that moment was a turning point.
“I feel like I got my heart back," he said. "That's what I feel like."
While his truck was inoperable, Beal kept his business alive by baking at home and expanding into online delivery.
He secured a marketplace agreement with DoorDash and that enabled him to fill orders from his kitchen for citywide delivery.
“We got some deals with DoorDash going on, which is really, really good," he said. "And, yeah, I'm really excited for the future ."
With the truck operational again, he plans to scale up sales through both direct food truck service and expanded delivery.
“When the food truck comes out, we're able to start selling just straight out the kitchen and shipping to places all over the city, which is really, really exciting,” Beal said.
Among his priorities: returning to English Landing, a riverfront location he considers a prime spot to sell cookies and connect with customers.
Edwards said assisting the young entrepreneur was gratifying.
“Seeing people happy, you know, that that gives me a great deal of peace, knowing that we were able to help them and their situation and help that young man, you know, get back up and running with the thing that he's obviously passionate about. We love that. It just makes our day,” he said.
Beal says the experience underscored the value of community support in sustaining small businesses.
“I just want to say I'm really, really thankful," he said. "We really, really have been blessed with all these opportunities. And I'm really, really excited for the future."
The anonymous cash donation will help cover permit renewals and paperwork.
That will help Mister Dipz remain compliant as operations expand.
—
