From Boston To Miami: NC’s Own Miss Johnnie Mae’s Offers Unique Mix Of Cajun, Soul Food

HIGH POINT, NC – The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly rough on new businesses throughout the area. Fortunately, Miss Johnnie Mae’s food truck has avoided the typical business struggles associated with the pandemic. Miss Johnnie Mae’s food truck has brought a unique mix of soul, Caribbean, and cajun food options to the Tar Heel State for over a year.

According to Otis Battles, the owner and operator of Miss Johnnie Mae’s, LLC., the food truck opened on October 2, 2020, and quickly become a staple within the Triad community. Its grand opening took place in the parking lot at the Power and Praise Tabernacle in High Point, and included live entertainment from both the R&B group SWV and solo artist KeKe Wyatt. The opening was so successful that it attracted “about 450 guests” according to Battles.

The immediate success did not stop there. Shortly thereafter, Miss Johnnie Mae’s was invited to Washington D.C. for President Biden’s inauguration. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the food truck did not make the trip up in January. Nonetheless, less than a month later Miss Johnnie Mae’s truck traveled to Tampa Bay to take part in the Super Bowl LV festivities. “Going to the Super Bowl…was absolutely incredible,” Battles said. “It was our first major event where we were able to meet and serve people from all around the world.” Mr. Battles added that the experience was “life-changing and we’re forever grateful [for it].” 

Despite the achievements Miss Johnnie Mae’s accomplished at the Super Bowl last year, they will not be attending this year’s Super Bowl. Instead, Battles believes they “will wait until [the Super Bowl] returns to the east coast” in order to share their remarkable menu with many more people. For now, the food truck has traveled up the coast “from Boston to Miami and the DC area three times.” According to Battles, wherever the Miss Johnnie Mae’s truck visits throughout the country, “crowds come from miles and sell us out every time, and we are well received everywhere we go.” Although Miss Johnnie Mae’s is highly regarded in any location it visits Battles notes that “especially our hometowns of High Point and Charlotte have shown us so much love.” 

Currently, Miss Johnnie Mae’s does not have any plans to turn into a restaurant, as other food trucks have done in recent years, due to its continued success. What separates Miss Johnnie Mae’s from other food trucks is its wide variety of food options. The difference in food choices is what helps them consistently sell out. “No one else in North Carolina does Oxtail Rasta Pasta, Seafood Rasta, Jerk Chicken Rasta Pasta, or our Lobster and Lump Crab 12 Cheese Mac,” Battles said. “Numbers don’t lie, we sell out nine out of ten times.”

For more information on Miss Johnnie Mae’s food truck, its soul, Caribbean, and cajun food options and its future locations, visit its Facebook page.