Six months after launching the Hangry Mike’s food truck, Mike Mignone and his fiancée, Haley Newman, are working to establish a general store with a deli in their hometown of Johnson. The couple are currently renovating 201 Lower Main Street East, where they hope to open the Johnson General Store early next year, Mignone, 42, said.
According to Mignone, the loss of Sterling Market has been tough for Johnson. The town’s only supermarket sustained serious damage in the July 2023 floods and never reopened, and discussions with other potential grocery operators have stalled. Although a 3,500-square-foot general store will not replace the larger market, Mignone said it will stock staples, including dairy, meats, produce and household products.
The deli part of the business will “start small,” Mignone said, with premade breakfast and lunch sandwiches and take-and-bake items, such as lasagna, meatloaf and pot pies. Once staffing allows, the store will expand to a full deli with made-to-order sandwiches and possibly an on-site bakery.
Mignone didn’t have a car when he moved to Johnson 21 years ago from Manhattan, where he’d grown up in a restaurant family, he said. He lived across the street from the Johnson General Store location, then DJ’s Corner Store and Deli. Many days, he recalled, “I ate all three of my meals at DJ’s.”
Hangry Mike’s food truck is currently on seasonal hiatus, and Mignone said he expects to sell it. In the meantime, he said, “I want Johnson to have food so quickly, I just might pull the food truck up in front [of the new general store] to cook.”
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2024.
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