Bodegas and chopped cheese sandwiches are staples of many New York City neighborhoods and communities, and two brothers are bringing a taste of those cultural icons to the streets of Atlanta with their food truck.
When Morehouse University student Ethan Drakes began selling cold-cut sandwiches out of his dorm his freshman year, it was out of necessity. Morehouse policy prohibits freshmen from having vehicles on campus, and the cafe closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays, leaving students to find alternatives when their late-night cravings hit. Back in Brooklyn, the 21-year-old’s hometown, a grumbling stomach could easily be satisfied by walking to a bodega, a small convenience store and community hub that seemingly dots every corner and operates until late at night.
“The bodega is really the lifeblood for a lot of New Yorkers. You go to the corner store about four or five times a week, even if you’re only giving them $1 a day. You go to the bodega for a lighter. You go to the bodega for Blistex. You go to the bodega for dinner and breakfast. A bodega is that comfort,” Ethan said.
Ethan aims to bring some of that NYC comfort to his fellow AUC students. What began as a hustle in the comfort of his dorm, making $150 a night, quickly transformed into a food truck business with his 19-year-old brother Aaron by his side. A Morris Brown College student, Aaron said his love of whipping up meals made it an easy decision to join his brother.
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice
“He had the whole plan. For me, I just wanted to be a chef,” Aaron said. “I didn’t know I really liked cooking until I noticed that whenever it was Mother’s and Father’s Day, I would cook for my parents as a gift to show my love. I really love doing this. It just came hand in hand. I cook, he has ideas, and I just follow through for him. We just made it work, and now we’re here.”
Soon, MoMo Bros—a name that plays on the first two letters of their HBCUs—was born. Ethan said their business model was “selling New York,” and since they began in February 2024, they’ve become a registered vendor at Morehouse, serving hundreds of students. They shared that they’ve even received calls and emails from other AUC students asking the brothers to visit their campuses and that they’re working on getting registered at Morris Brown and Clark Atlanta.
“Spread love the Brooklyn way,” the famous Notorious B.I.G. lyric is displayed on the side of their truck amid a white outline sketch of the New York City skyline. Merchandise designed by Ethan, a t-shirt with the MoMos Bros logo and the same lyric-turned-motto on the back, is hanging from the serving window hatch. On a Saturday afternoon at a vendor event, customers come and go from the truck, ordering menu items curated by Aaron, such as oxtail mac and cheese, chicken over rice, and churros.
But a common question they get, especially after one customer flips open their takeaway box to reveal their sandwich is, “What is that?” They’re referring to the fan-favorite chopped cheese, a combination of seasoned ground beef and onions topped with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and a side of crispy fries drizzled with Aaron’s special “OG sauce.”
The question is a sign that their goal to bring a slice of Brooklyn to Atlanta is working.
Ethan takes orders and makes sure their merch is correctly displayed while Aaron chops up meat and veggies on the metal griddle and drops baskets of fries into the hot oil. Their father, Edwin Drakes, who’s never too far, occasionally checks in to ensure they have everything they need. It’s an intimate dance within the confines of their truck that they make look easy. The brothers thank their ability to work together and their experience working in food service to their parents, who opened Brooklyn Beso, a Caribbean and Latin-inspired restaurant in Brooklyn in 2012.
Any questions they had about running a business, they could field to their parents, especially their mother, who constantly imbued them with words of encouragement and support, even helping them purchase the food truck.
The brothers shared that it’s hard to balance school and business, but they’ve learned from their mom the importance of delegating tasks. On days when they have to work an event, they usually spend eight to 12 hours vending. The night before, they’re busy prepping the food, and at the end of the event day, it’s task after task, from cleaning to closing down the truck.
“It’s my business. It’s more than just rent; it’s my legacy,” Ethan said. “Any advice I would give to people trying to be an entrepreneur like this is you need a support system. You need to regulate. It comes with time and practice. I’m still a kid. I’m only 21. It’s not like I got everything figured out, but you know what’s important and you know it has to get done.”
That hard work is already laying down the building blocks for their legacy. Ethan and Aaron’s next step is to expand their business to the West End, an area Ethan likened to Brooklyn before gentrification, with the opening of MoMo Bros Gourmet, a cafe-inspired expansion of their bodega food truck. The success of MoMo Bros has led the brothers to sign a lease on a brick-and-mortar located at 806 M.L.K. Jr Dr. S.W., with plans to open in 2026.
“In my mind, because I relate Brooklyn to the West End, I’m like, ‘Yo, we’re going to franchise. We’re going to have at least three MoMo Bros in the West End,’” Ethan said. “The whole plan was to keep it local to the AUC and, God willing, we’re going to franchise. In my mind, I’m not doing anything new. I’m just coming from New York, and I’m bringing New York to Atlanta and doing it the Brooklyn way.
“It feels good. And a lot of people are starting to notice. Hopefully, this is the foundation for a lot more.”
