Mama Jo Is NYC’s Official Grandmother of Breakfast

My kids, they think I'm crazy. They think, Ma, when are you going to stop? No, I'm not going to stop. I'm the oldest vendor in New York City vending. There could be other people where the sons and the daughters took over. It's just me. If I die, it dies with me. That's how it goes, you know? My name is Joanna Despos. They call me Mama Jo. I run Mama Jo's Breakfast Car, yeah. I was doing this for 35 years, maybe more. It was no breakfast cars in the city at the time I started. Now we have like 3,000. Breakfast car sells usually, you know, bagels and donuts and muffins and garnishes, but I do beyond that. I have all kinds of omelets and all kinds of eggs, and I make Greek food and I make spanakopita. I make olive bread. I make baklava. I do all kinds of iced coffees, cappuccinos, frappuccinos. I do everything. My most popular is spanakopita and bacon and cheese. I never go to any other corner for all these years. 47th and Park. That's where you find me. Bonjour, comment allez-vous? My customers, they're my jewels. They are. You become involved with the families and the kids and everything, yeah. They call me Mama Jo at the minute. I'm telling you, they give me the name. My name was Joanne from the beginning, and then Jo, and then became Mama Jo. I said, do you want me to add a Grandma Jo now? So all the young kids, you know, they come from all over the United States and they work in banks and in law firms and everything. They don't know too many people here, so it's good to know somebody, a friendly face, and they appreciate it. And you can ask them too. It's not my word. Today's your birthday? Don't give me the five bucks. This is on me. You want me to sing for you? I come every morning here, and I say to Mama Jo every morning, good morning, Mama Jo. She takes care of everybody. She always has a smile on her face. One time, I remember I was coming, and I go, where's Mama Jo? Mama Jo's not here today? I said, what happened, guys? If I get a little older and say, Mama Jo, you sit in the chair, and we'll make you coffee, but you be here, right? It was all right. I was born in the north of Greece, a little town called Pylori. The time I was born, 1951, it was not that easy years, you know? Kids go to school and then come home and then go to the fields. I was seven years old, work in the fields, cotton and tobacco and a lot of things. I came here 1968. I moved to America for better future, for better life. I love this country, yes. I'm here so many years. I came here with nothing, no money, absolutely nothing. I start from zero, and I put kids through college, and I bought a home. If you want to do things, you can do it in this country. I don't see you back there. Like me. I'm here! Okay, take care. Oh my goodness. Every day you hear a story. I wake up 11.45, I leave my house 12 midnight, and I go to my fruit stand 12.30. What is this? Avocado. I know. From Peru. From Peru? Yeah. Okay. Avocado from Peru. I go to the fruit market every morning, every day is fresh what we sell, you know what I'm saying? Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. We're going to go now to a place where I park my pushcart. Yeah, I sleep probably, oh, three and a half, four hours every day. I get up and I'm up. People, they say, how you do it? You 68 years old. I guess I came from a good genes, you know? Then I go one o'clock to my commissary and I pick up my car from there. This is my menu. Like if you go to a breakfast restaurant, I have more stuff than what they have in the menu. 2.07, my driver's going to come. And then he's going to take this to my spot. So it's 2.07. I know. I'm going to give him a ticket. He has my driver. Mohammed's a great guy. He's from Africa. He's such a great guy. The city never sleeps, never sleeps. Then I come here around two o'clock. Hey, babe. Hey, what's up? You going to help me here? Yeah, I'm going to help you. I'm going to hold it right here. Oh, thank you very much. It doesn't do it for anybody else, only for me, right, babe? That's right. Everything comes here, delivered to me. My eggs, fresh. And my milk comes every day here. Four o'clock, I put the grill on. Hello, guys. Hi. Okay. I'm going to get a little busy now. Oh, you do? That's because they're filming me today. That's why. Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you, man. Mama Jo, everybody in the office knows her. So she's kind of just a staple here. She takes time to take care of you. It's a great way to start your day. She's part of my routine now, so it's great. Then we just talk about the day, talk about each other's families. Next thing you know, a year or two years goes by, and you're just a part of each other's lives, which is kind of special. Yes, yes, of course, here. Tutuli, come here. Here's my Tutuli. Take my Tutuli. Yeah. Sauce, egg, and cheese. What, I'm going to make it on a roll for you? I put the cheese here, and then I put this one on top, so it can melt it. So then we'll put this here. And then if you want, salt, pepper, ketchup, whatever. I like pepper. Though this one is a little spicy, you know? And I'm going to put a little sriracha. You know? Like, a little sriracha, okay? You close it up, and then I give it a nice cut like this. And I'll go, boop. That's it. And then you eat it. Toste, toste. Toste bagel. Yeah, baby. And I can write a book. I have stories, and I have photos. I don't forget anything. The book is going to call 47 and 5. Maybe I will do it, too. You never know. If I retire. Not too long ago, actually, you know, it was guys who tried to rob me. They grabbed my phone, and I chased them. But also, don't forget, I have hot water. I can easily, you know, fix everybody. Make them a scar face if they try to do anything. You want a frappedaki? He goes, baby, you have to work. And you have to like what you do. You don't like it, don't do it. I'm 68 years old, you know? And I'm doing it because I like what I do. You see the exercise I do here. And I do even more in my house. So I don't stop. And I'm not stopped. How long I'm going to keep doing this? My kids ask me that all the time. I don't know. They've been two years, five years, 10 years. I don't know. I'm still healthy. I have energy. You have to put priority. What is your priority? Who comes first? You come first. You know what I mean? Don't stress in life. Never fear. And do what you like. And if you have a big problem, leave it for tomorrow, babe. Tomorrow, maybe that problem's not going to be there. You see, that's because of you. Yes. Yeah, right. Who wants to?