‘Betty the Chevy’ star of Tifton flower business

TIFTON — Imagine for a moment that your name is Belle Golden. You are only recently married, you have taken a year off school, and you have just had a baby. Your husband’s coffee shop business is just three years old, and you have no experience making floral arrangements at all. How does the idea of starting a flower truck business sound to you?

If you’re the real Belle Golden, it sounds pretty good. Belle and her husband honeymooned in Nashville, Tenn., in 2017. There, Belle saw Amelia’s Flower Truck, one of three vintage Volkswagen vans around Nashville that offers customers handmade, one of a kind floral arrangements.

Belle fell in love with the idea and thought that the old ’65 Chevy already at her and her husband’s coffee shop, Espresso 41 in Tifton, nicknamed “Betty” would be perfect for a flower truck of her own.

In February of 2018, just a month after she and Justin had their son, Charlie, with staples from her C-section still in and no experience making floral arrangements professionally, Belle filled the back of Betty the Chevy with flowers.

It rained the whole day, but Belle was not discouraged.

“I still sold out of flowers that day, and Tifton showed me that they loved my business and would support me,” Belle said.

Belle grew up watching her grandmother work in a flower shop and put together all kinds of floral arrangements and bouquets. She said she has always loved flowers, but she didn’t like the idea of premade bouquets that you get at grocery stores.

“One of my main reasons for starting the flower truck was so that people could come pick out their own flowers and create their own bouquet,” she said. “I wanted it to be a fun, cool experience for my customers.”

And Betty the Chevy is part of that fun and cool experience.

“Betty the Chevy makes the whole set up,” Belle said. “She’s part of the experience, too. Being that it’s different and unique has set us apart from other floral shops.”

Belle said she believes there is just something “special” about getting flowers.

“When they’re unexpected or even expected, they have the potential to brighten someone’s day or week,” Belle said. “I wanted to have a very small part in doing so. When I create a bouquet, I know that whoever receives it will be blessed that day.”

Betty the Chevy is located in front of the Goldens’ other business, Espresso 41 right off of Highway 41 in Tifton. They are open most Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with special orders and deliveries completed throughout the week.

Belle said she believes having the two businesses close together helps both.

“Some of my customers will let me create their bouquet while they run in the coffee shop and grab a cup of coffee,” she said. “I’ve had customers of the flower truck learn about the coffee shop because of the flower truck and vice versa.”

But Belle has also had pop-up events at other local Tifton businesses like Plantation 59 and Willows on Third.

“I absolutely love visiting other local businesses,” she said. “It’s all about supporting each other. I chose to start doing this because most businesses I have visited are on the opposite side of town from the truck and coffee shop. It gets my name out on that side of town if people can’t make it to the coffee shop. It also establishes a greater customer base.”

Overall, Belle said she feels it is important for her and her husband as well as community members to help support locally owned businesses.

“Shopping local has a greater impact than most think,” she said. “When people purchase a bouquet from the flower truck, they are buying my baby boy’s formula for the next few days. They’re paying the light bill for our house. The same for the coffee shop. When people purchase from the coffee shop, they’re keeping a roof over our employees’ heads, helping them make their car payment. Shopping local is so important.”

And while Belle took a year off from school to stay at home with her son, she studies Early Childhood Education with plans to teach kindergarten or first grade. Her interest and commitment to education and educators motivated her to start a teacher nomination program at the beginning of the school year. People could nominate teachers to receive a bouquet once a month for the whole year.

“I want to invest in the lives of future world-changers and play a hand in their future,” Belle said. “Because I want to be a teacher, I wanted to share some sunshine through a bouquet with a current teacher. So many teaches were nominated, but I chose one to receive a bouquet once a month for the entire school year. I’m investing back into my community and giving them what they’ve given me, which has been nothing but unending support.”