Justin Hintze, a former real estate agent,[4] opened Jojo in Sellwood in October 2018.[6] The food cart relocated to a pod on Southwest Powell in 2019.[6] Jojo became known for its social media posts in 2019.[7] In late 2019, Jojo and Vietnamese cart Matta collaborated to launch Chơi Luôn, a restaurant within the cocktail bar Lulu.[4]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jojo offered free meals to children, restaurant workers,[8][9] and hospital workers.[10] In April, when Jojo reopened after a temporary closure, the business offered free sandwiches to all who asked.[11]
In 2021, Hintze confirmed plans to open a sibling brick and mortar restaurant in the Pearl District.[12][13] The restaurant opened on September 15, 2022.[14][15][16] Jojo also caters large events.[17]
In 2019, Jojo was a Food Cart of the Year finalist in Eater Portland's Eater Awards. The website's Brooke Jackson-Glidden wrote, "Jojo stands out as a Portland icon for its social media alone, but luckily this Creston-Kenilworth cart’s hulking fried chicken sandwiches are similarly obsession-inducing. Owner Justin Hintze doesn’t hold back with spice, sauce, or smoke, topping chicken with potato salad and sambal mayo on a crisped bun, with a side of crispy-crackly jojos for gut-busting good measure."[18]
In 2020, Nick Woo and Alex Frane included Jojo in the website's lists of 14 "outstanding" fried chicken sandwiches in the city and 14 "excellent" sandwich shops in Portland, respectively.[19] Jojo was included in several Eater Portland lists in 2021, including Woo and Nick Townsend's 14 "real-deal" fried chicken restaurants in Portland,[20] Krista Garcia's 10 "chicken-and-jojo champs" in the city,[21] Woo and Jackson-Glidden's 15 "outstanding" food carts in Portland,[22] Daniel Barnett and Garcia's 17 "mind-blowing" burgers in the metropolitan area,[23] and Jackson-Glidden's 38 "essential" Portland restaurants and food carts.[24] In 2023, Nathan Williams included Jojo in an overview of recommended eateries in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood,[25] and Waz Wu included the business in an overview of "top-notch" vegan Burgers in the city.[26] Jojo was included in the website's 2025 list of Portland's best brunch restaurants.[27]
Portland Monthly included Jojo in a 2021 overview of "The Best Fried Chicken in Portland".[28] Michael Russell included the restaurant in The Oregonian's 2023 list of Portland's ten best new brunches.[29]