North Philadelphia food cart owner wants corn to be the new cheesesteak

Nija Wiggins dreams big about corn.

Wiggins, 35, of North Philadelphia, sells freshly prepared gourmet corn on the cob and popcorn at her food cart, Corneey’s. The mother of twins and former songwriter is on a mission to establish her corn creations — including deep fried corn on the cob, jerk-style corn on the cob with jerk chicken and peppers, and Cajun-style corn on the cob topped with shrimp and turkey sausage — as staples of the Philly food scene. Like cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, she likes to say.

“I believe the higher you dream, the harder you work,” said Wiggins, who envisions opening shops and stands along the Jersey Shore and inside Lincoln Financial Field.

Wiggins, who first started selling her corn out of her grandmother’s Mount Airy kitchen in 2018, recently won some help with her dreams.

In September, Wiggins was one of 20 Philly small-business owners awarded a $5,000 grant from Elevate Together. Funded by the Office Depot Foundation — and partnering with the Urban League of Philadelphia and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — the national nonprofit addresses systemic discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth.

“I was extremely surprised and humbled,” Wiggins said. “I felt like what I was working for was real, like all the hard work I have been doing was finally being acknowledged.”

Wiggins said the inspiration for her cooking is found in the recipes learned during her family’s regular Sunday dinners at her great-grandmother’s house in North Philly. Momma Barlow’s table was always heaped high with homemade soul food, she said.

“Everyone feels their family was the best cooks and had the best recipes,” she said, with a laugh. “Of course I felt the same way.”

After pursuing a music career and becoming a mother to twin girls, Brooklyn and Bailey, Wiggins started to think seriously about a career in the food industry.

“I wanted to sell something that you could walk the boardwalk with,” she said. “Something easy, something accessible, something fun, and something you can dress up anyway you want to.”

She named most of her menu items after family members (“I am extremely proud of where I came from,” she said.) Her family works the cart with her. Her Aunt Lisa works the window. Her father, George, shucks the corn. And the twins help out when they’re not busy with school. She first started by selling her corn to friends and neighbors for a few dollars. Soon, she no longer recognized the customers streaming into her grandmother’s kitchen.

“That’s when I knew I was onto something,” she said.

After opening her cart in 2020, she became a regular at Philly food festivals and street fairs. She credits the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s small business incubator program and the Lancaster Avenue 21st Century Business Association with helping her grow her business.

Wiggins plans on using some of the grant money to buy a new sign for her cart — and to hire a helper. Someone young who dreams the same dreams she does, she said.

“So they can see someone who looks like them making it happen,” she said.