MEMPHIS, Tenn. — JoJo's Espresso opened in Germantown in the Thornwood plaza on November 18th of this year. The business is owned by Taylor Whiddon and his wife Hannah Whiddon.
JoJo's Espresso started in July 2020 as a mobile coffee shop. They built and customized a trailer from the ground up, and wanted it to look like a "coffee shop on wheels." The business started during the pandemic but was actually successful for Whiddon. "Even during the pandemic, people were coming to food trucks, since it was more of a carry out kind of business and everything," said Whiddon.
The owners named the business after their second son Josiah, who got the name "JoJo" from his older brother, who was just two years old at the time. Josiah unfortunately passed away in 2018 from a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart. "We wanted to remember and honor his name, by naming it after him," said Whiddon.
"Fast forward to making the business and everything, we thought of JoJo's Espresso, again to remember him, but also it kind of helps with the name, like coffee and everything, cup of Joe, JoJo's Espresso has a good rhyme to it."
Their coffee trailer was open for two years in Germantown, and developed a relationship within the community in Thornwood, which allowed them to open their first store front. Whiddon said there were no other specialty coffee shops in the area, which made for a great opportunity.
"I think the reason people keep coming back is one, the community aspect of it all, and the family friendly atmosphere that we have here. I think that really goes above the coffee and the pastries that we serve. And then, I would say probably really the coffee...Last but certainly not least is definitely our pastries...," said Whiddon.