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So you are thinking about giving up the bright-lights-and-big-city career to work in a food truck up north?
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Ryan and Jessie did and have never looked back.
“We were nuts,” joked Jessie Lorraine Hadcock when thinking back to the decision that would change the life of her and her husband Ryan Mahn. “I mean, we opened a new business, a food business, at the beginning of a pandemic!”
Talk about a plot twist. When they made the bold move in 2019, little did they know what would be coming in 2020. Their story would make a great mini-series.
Both were top morning show producers in Toronto radio for a decade. Jessie was John Moore’s go-to person at Newstalk 1010 while Ryan worked over at The FAN 590.
“It was an amazing experience but the writing was on the wall for radio,” said Jessie.
But what to do?
Any conversation with media people over a coffee always broaches this topic: Some want to become writers of books or movies or get back to their first-love of acting, go into politics or open a business. This couple wanted to do something fun where they could be their own boss.
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“We had these great jobs, but the stress, the long hours, was killing us,” said Jessie. “The most important parts of life, the meaningful parts were passed us by.”
Lucky for them Jessie’s twin sister Ann Marie was going through a change of careers, too.
“My parents had run the bakery in Tobermory for 25 years and retired,” said Jessie. “My twin sister Ann Marie managed it and knew a lot about the food business. She had mastered how to make fresh cut fries working in a chip wagon in London while she was earning her Masters degree.”
The spell was cast. The Sand Witches Food Truck was born. BBQ roast beef and pulled pork sandwiches with homemade fries and poutine for hungry tourists was their future.
“We put in our notices and started packing,” said Jessie. “Then COVID hit.”
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Oops.
“Driving to Wiarton not knowing if we could work, potentially not having income, was horrifying” but “we were committed.”
There was no turning back now.
“We lost the entire first spring because we couldn’t open due to COVID-19,” she said. “We had a whole roster of events booked and we lost every single one.”
But with the help of her dad Wayne, who did the driving, and mom Lorrie, who helps with food preparations, they persevered by parking the awesome Sand Witches truck on the highway.
“We kept afloat, but it was tough. Pre-COVID that highway was jammed with cars. During COVID it was bare. The tourists just weren’t coming. No tour buses, the national parks were closed and Americans couldn’t cross the border.”
However, many noticed their tasty fare and the Sand Witches caught on.
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“Many of our friends in radio keep in touch and pop up to see us. John Moore is very supportive. Jerry Agar rode his motorcycle up to surprise us, we also saw Becky Coles, his producer, Hugh Burrell from The Fan, George Michaels from CHYM and even legendary news anchor Evelyn Macko! ”
The tight-knit communities in that area also embraced them.
“The locals supported us with open hearts. Without their praise and support we wouldn’t be running again this year,” said Jessie.
The Sand Witches returned that love by cooking for local front-line hospital workers and providing hot turkey holiday dinners for struggling families.
Then on Easter Weekend, finally, they had that Jerry Maguire and Field of Dreams breakthrough moment. The truck was parked in Oliphant, near Sauble Falls on the South Bruce Peninsula and Sand Witches saw something new.
“We had huge lines,” said Jessie. “It was a welcome sight.”
It was also a sign that their big gamble of sweeping away their Toronto life and getting on that broom to fly north is beginning to soar.
