It started with a food cart: a food vending pushcart. Leroy Maurice Robinson Jr. said he started out selling hot dogs, hamburgers, hot sausages––and that’s what he’s still selling, some 35 years later.
Today, his pushcart is known as the Mo’s Burgers food truck. Robinson turned his sidewalk business into a profitable enterprise that allowed him to feed and house his family over the last few decades.
“That was the ultimate goal: to move from a street vending thing to a mobile food truck,” he said. Because he is a veteran, he was awarded a New York City mobile food vendor’s license. Robinson was able to make a living selling quick meals to locals by pulling his pushcart up onto the sidewalk for years at 153 Malcolm X Blvd between 118th and 117th Street in Harlem. Ten years ago, he had earned enough to buy out the owner of Victor’s Barber Shop, the business beside his cart.
“I’ve just recently got rid of the barbershop. I’ve owned the barbershop for the last 10 years, I think. I got rid of it in like the last six months,” Robinson told the AmNews.
Why did he get rid of it? “Number one, I’m not a barber and I realized I only had the barbershop because it was just a place to keep my refrigerators and freezers for the work I was doing out front.
“Once I got the food truck, I didn’t need that barber shop no more. And with COVID, it had taken a real hit anyway. I mean, that thing never recovered.”
Food vending was what Robinson really wanted to do and he’s proud of the food he serves. Mo’s Burgers is famous for its juicy 4-ounce burgers for $2.50, 8-ounce burgers for $3.75, and tasty $1.50 hot dogs. “And they’re crazy about the punch. I mix a fruit punch and a lemonade: That’s my No. 1 drink, period. Even in the winter, that’s what people come for.”
The real draw of the work for Robinson remains the opportunities it gives him to engage with his customers. He said he really likes talking to the many people he encounters every day.
“I just like to talk with people, push people’s buttons. It’s just like something I do; it just works, it works. You know, I can never have a bad day at Mo’s Burgers. It just works. People come out and support me.”
The food and drinks served at Mo’s Burgers helped him and his wife, Terrencia, raise their five children. Those children are all adults now, and Robinson said not one of them is interested in taking over the business, something he totally understands. He said they each have their own careers and interests. One son is in real estate, a daughter works as an educator, another son has a party planning business, a second daughter moved out of state, and his last son has tried working with him but just didn’t find it interesting: “It wasn’t his style; he was too cool for that,” Robinson said with a laugh.
That means the Mo’s Burgers food truck may just retire with Robinson in a few years. He said he’s ready to put in another three or four more years and see what happens.
I absolutely loved reading about Mo’s Burgers! The combination of delicious food and a welcoming atmosphere really makes it sound like a gem in the community. Can’t wait to visit and experience the camaraderie for myself!