Did somebody say pickleball?
Welcome to Camp Elsewhere – a woodsy retreat
November 25, 2024
LA CROSSE – So, what were you doing at 18?
Fretting over finals, farewells and the future?
Asking crossroad questions such as: Should I work or go to school? What school? What work? Would taking a gap year make sense?
Mia Simone Davis of La Crosse said she hasn’t bothered with those – she already knows the path she plans to take.
Instead, the 18-year-old has started a successful food truck business, earned recognition from her local business community, launched youth mentoring and other community service initiatives and has plans to grow.
And she’s not done yet – noting she has “big plans” for her future.
More than a safe space
Though the reception she receives now from the La Crosse region is nothing but positive, Davis said her first years in the area were challenging.
Born and raised in Madison until the summer after her fourth-grade year, Davis said her family moved to La Crosse when her mom purchased a house and started a group home for youth, along with her godmother.
Starting school in her new hometown, she said, was an “extreme culture shock.”
“Madison was so diverse,” she said. “We had kids from different races, different cultures, different ethnic groups. And here I felt like there was no diversity, there was no inclusion, there was no equality. I felt like I was the target for a large portion of my years in school. I was a very shy, quiet girl, and I got bullied a lot, because I was a Black girl who was very quiet and very smart.”
When she was in the seventh grade, Davis said she and her older sister decided to do something about this negativity – and started a student-run organization for students of color that created a place “to feel safe, to feel comfortable.”
“I remember every time we had African-American lessons, the other students and even the teachers were going to look at me like I possessed all the Black wisdom,” she said.
Davis said she and her friends wanted to take the story of Black history in another direction – evolving the group far beyond a safe space and embracing an education-driven mission.
“We created projects about our history to properly educate our educators and our peers, because all we had seen in history class about people of color were the hardships: The traumatic things that happened to our communities,” she said.
Davis said it was important to her and her friends to tell a positive story.
“There are Black entrepreneurs,” she said. “There are Black creators. There are Black founders. Black CEOs. We wanted to see some Black excellence taught.”
Davis said with help from her friends, she created a series of presentations for the school – even preparing to host the first annual “Black Excellence” event when COVID-19 hit.
“We were going to award allies, teachers and other people in our community who had supported us throughout our journey,” she said. “Then George Floyd passed away. It was so traumatic. It was community trauma, honestly.”
These events, Davis said, inspired her to engage with the demonstrations with the goal of reminding people that there is greatness in the Black community.
She said she started working with youth groups, mentoring others and coordinating support groups that focused on allyship.
“We sent 100 students back to school with $100 worth of gifts,” she said. “We let the La Crosse area know that there is a strong community here and there’s excellence being done within our community.”
Launching a business
This combination of taking charge and giving back – at just 15 years old – is a recurring theme for Davis, who said she eventually channeled these strengths into launching her business.
At the time, she said her community work included hosting food-focused fundraisers.
“I ended up doing a lot of the cooking – taco bars, spaghetti dinners, chicken dinners,” she said. “I got so much amazing feedback. People were sharing their love for my food and sharing their love for me.”
While preparing southern dinners for an event on Martin Luther King Day Jan. 15, 2021, Davis said it was clear the word was out about her cooking – receiving more than 25 pre-orders.
“My whole life just lit up, because I’m like, ‘25 people want my food,’” she said.
Feeling embraced by the larger La Crosse community for the first time since moving to the region, Davis said, inspired her to start thinking about taking her love of cooking and experimenting with recipes into something permanent in her life.
She said that contemplation led her to lean into lessons learned from her grandma who sold meals to fellow church members and her uncle who ran a food truck and later opened a restaurant.
“At the time, I was in the kitchen like a scientist,” she said. “I love creating and playing with different spices and herbs. I’ve always had a passion for cooking. I remember learning how to make steak and chili when I was nine years old. I was always in the kitchen.”
Davis said she started getting requests to cater birthday parties, family gatherings, work lunches and other small gatherings.
After catering smaller gigs for a while, she said things were about to get real.
“I got a call to do a wedding,” she said. “I was so happy I remember running to tell my whole family.”
Along with weddings, Davis said she started cooking for other events, expanding beyond La Crosse to other Coulee Region towns, such as Galesville and Centerville.
As her business evolved, she said she kept returning to a dream she’s had since she was 14 – to follow in her uncle’s footsteps and start a food truck.
Davis said she learned of the $25,000 Community First small business grant awarded by Altra Federal Credit Union in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago – two days before the application deadline.
“I’m like, ‘okay, I don’t know what a grant is – I’m only 18. I don’t think I can fill this out in time,’” she said.
Weeks passed but at the beginning of this year she got the call – she got the grant.
“I was shocked,” she said. “I remember just crying like a little ol’ baby, because it told me people want to see me grow – to see how far I can go.”
After posting the “big check” picture on social media, Davis said she got to work – catering several larger community events to expand her community connections.
This hustle, she said, paid off as she was invited as a guest of honor at the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce Women’s Leadership Summit earlier this fall.
Davis said she was also honored as a “Phenomenal Woman” at the annual Asian Latinx African Native American+ Womxn Dinner at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse earlier this year.
Sky’s the limit
Spending the summer working with the Small Business Development Center on a business plan, while researching food trucks online, Davis said she concluded: “Why not get one custom-built?”
So that’s what she did.
Davis said she purchased her truck and trailer June 20, held her first event – none other than the granddaddy of La Crosse events, Oktoberfest – and held an official grand opening celebration for Mia’s Kitchen Southern and Caribbean Twist Meals Nov. 16.
“It was my little girl’s dream coming true,” she said. “I remember thinking about the little girls that I’m going to inspire. I once (felt like I didn’t fit in) this town, but now, I have so much love and thankfulness for it. I’ve prospered so much within this town, growing amazing platforms.”
Those platforms, Davis said, include two youth groups she facilitates to help inspire young women to achieve their dreams as she has during her formative years.
“So it’s just been a year of dreams coming true with everything I’ve ever asked for coming to life,” she said.
Davis said she has no plans of slowing down in the dreams department as a brick-and-mortar location is on her radar – followed by a franchise and eventually a global franchise.
“Because my ultimate goal is to show youth with similar passions how to grow their brand, grow connections and start their own platform in their community,” she said. “I want to use my whole life story as a testament to what you can do.”
