A popular Fort Moore food truck is opening a restaurant inside the Asian Supermarket

Opening a restaurant has been a long time coming for Rachelle Williams and her husband, Chuck.

For years they sold Filipino cuisine and custom cakes at Market Days on Broadway, but they wanted a brick and mortar restaurant.

The first location the couple thought would work fell through, but then they found another spot that might have been perfect.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic began. And the Williams family suffered a loss.

Rachelle’s father, Baltazar Cruz, died from COVID-19 in 2021 while he was in The Philippines, bringing their life to a halt and ending their plans for opening the restaurant in their second location.

Two years later, Rachelle and Chuck think fondly of the support Cruz gave their family as they get closer to finally opening Bella’s CAKEtering, inside the Asian Supermarket on Milgen Road.

The restaurant, named after their daughter Bella, will have longer hours than the Williams’ food truck that operates on Fort Moore. A soft opening will be held soon after the initial health inspection is completed, Chuck said.

“We’re opening the (restaurant) because we listen to our customers saying they really want us to get one,” Rachelle said. “And now we’re here.”

Becoming a vendor

Rachelle was born and raised in The Philippines.

She was not a cook growing up, but indulged in her grandmother’s food.

After moving to Columbus around 16 years ago, Rachelle struggled to find Filipino food.

“So, I started cooking and baking,” she said. “...But I did not expect that people will like it.”

Her family loved her food, and friends began spreading the news of Rachelle’s Filipino food through word of mouth. She began taking orders and making items like lumpia, noodles, breads and authentic Filipino desserts.

Rachelle and Chuck met while working at TSYS, about a year after she moved to Columbus. Chuck supported Rachelle’s cooking and the two built the business together.

One day, someone told Rachelle about Market Days on Broadway. Each Saturday from April to November, local and regional vendors converge on Broadway selling fresh produce, home goods, jewelry, crafts and baked goods.

They went to one of the events one day, and spoke to a vendor selling cookies.

“How do you get into this?” they asked the vendor.

The woman explained the application process to them, and now Bella’s CAKEtering is in its sixth year of being a vendor.

‘Daddy, this is a food truck now’

Rachelle and Chuck still work full-time jobs at TSYS and Aflac respectively while raising their three children and operating their business.

Before his death, Cruz traveled back and forth from The Philippines to Georgia to spend time with his daughter’s family and provide some much needed assistance for their business.

He did much of the meal preparation for the time-consuming items, like lumpia, while Rachelle and Chuck were at work. Lumpia are like egg rolls, which take a lot of time to prepare the ingredients and roll each lumpia.

Cruz would ask Rachelle to prepare the ingredients, and he rolled the lumpia while she was at work. He would roll 300 to 500 pieces while Rachelle was gone.

“It just reminds me of him,” she said. “Every time I sit down and make some egg roll, I just cry and cry because I miss him.”

Her father was a healthy 67-year-old in 2021. Cruz was supposed to come to Georgia in 2021, but flights were canceled because of the pandemic. He caught COVID-19 and died in August 2021.

Rachelle and Chuck weren’t able to visit him in the hospital because of the pandemic, and Cruz was quickly cremated because of The Philippines’ COVID protocols. Rachelle had to watch his service on her computer about two weeks later. It was delayed while her mother was in quarantine.

Six months later, Rachelle’s mother brought his urn with her when she came to visit. Rachelle placed the urn in the new Bella’s CAKEtering food truck that she and Chuck were operating on Fort Moore.

“Daddy, this is the food truck now,” she told her father.

Opening in the Asian Supermarket

Chuck and Rachelle visited the Asian Supermarket when it first opened in 2021, but didn’t initially realize that it had space to support restaurants or other vendors.

“We were just like everyone else,” Chuck said. “We wanted to come in here and see what all they have to offer.”

Before the supermarket opened, their only option to find the ingredients needed to make Filipino food was to drive to Atlanta, Opelika or Auburn. They were excited that an Asian Supermarket was opening close to their home.

When they realized the restaurant space was available, they began making inquiries. At first they believed they couldn’t afford the price, so they kept looking. But the couple kept thinking about the Asian Supermarket, and kept asking about the space until one day they were given a good deal.

The Bella’s CAKEtering restaurant will have longer hours and a bigger menu than what’s available in the food truck, including all-day Filipino breakfast and daily specials. They’ve offered daily specials at Market Days in the past, Chuck said, but the food truck is limited to a specific menu.

Customers can also order sliced cakes, Rachelle said, along with her custom cakes. Along with Filipino cakes, Bella’s CAKEtering will offer American-style cakes, birthday cakes, breads and other desserts.

The couple will also host events and special menus like a boodle fight, which is a large spread of rice, fish, noodle lumpia and other items. These spreads are similar to a low country boil.

Rachelle still feels sad Cruz isn’t here to see the restaurant opening, she said, because he was her biggest supporter.

“He’s still part of the business,” Rachelle said. “And I miss him every day.”