Hello. I am looking to purchase a coffee van in the near future, and I have a few questions about the biz. Please post responses if you can answer one or more of my questions. Thank You, and good luck to others trying to open their own coffee business.
1. Does anyone have a suggestion as to the best companies for buying equipped vans or trailers? Or trailers, sprinters, vans the best, most endurable bet. What does a fully equipped vehicle cost in general?
2. If you plan on vending at events and festivals, do you need to book in advance? If there are other coffee carts there, is there is a limit as to how many can show up, and if this is the case is the market saturated with coffee venders in the event/festival arena already?
3. If one is committed and finds events with high traffic volume on a regular basis, what can one expect in terms of profit?
4. Does anyone have any suggestions about books for people who want to crack the mobile coffee cart biz such as mobile coffee shops for dummies, etc?
5. I understand that it takes about a year for a new coffee cafe to break even. Is the same true for a mobile coffee cart, or are profits quicker because of the mobility and access to higher volumes of traffic? Do you think that its more profitable to park in a hospital/business building, or to count on being mobile, traveling to events etc.?
6. What is a good, quality, reasonably priced coffee to use for a mobile coffee cart?
7. Can having a panini press be profitable, or do you think that for a beginner it would cost more to make sandwiches than it is worth?
8. If you are cooking basic goods at home for the cart such as cookies, muffins, scones, is it necessary to get a food license for your home kitchen and list ingredients on the baked goods
9. Is it permissable to have one''s coffee van on a high school campus?
Coffee cart
We don't have a coffee van but we do have a portable espresso machine and we attend several local events. You must book ahead of time and there is always some sort of fee. We have set up at the local county fair and that has been fun and very profitable. Also we have an Art Festival each spring in the park that we attend. One of the best shows that we do is the AKC Dog Show. Some of the events will only allow one vendor doing one particular item. But no one has had a problem with the coffee because no one else has the gourmet coffee. We serve scones and lunch at some of the events but not all depending on their requests. You will just have to ask. We try to keep the number of staff working each event down to the bare essentials, this will help in the profit margin.
As far as parking in a hospital or business lot, you would have to get permission from that business and then they may have some requirements. That would be the same with the school.
You should be able to price your coffee the same as any other coffee place, you have expenses just like they do.
Yes, you must have a food license if you are making food at home. And there are a lot of requirements. Check with your health inspector as to the requirements before starting.
Good luck