What is a coffee cart? It is a self-contained espresso bar on wheels, typically between five and six feet long. It contains refrigeration units, water supply tanks, a water-pumping system, a hot water tank and a sink with hot and cold running water with a portable drain tank. A fully loaded wagon with equipment ranges in price from $13,000 to $26,000.
The coffee pushcart business is growing by leaps and bounds. Almost everyone enjoys a great cup of coffee so you should never run out of customers. However, before you open your own coffee handcart establishment there are several very important things that you need to accomplish beforehand
The very first thing you have got to carry out is research. Learn everything you can concerning coffee. Read books, attend trade shows, become a coffee expert. You must know your industry inside and out to help it prosper. You ought also work out a merchant plan to aid in establishing the financial aspects of a coffee cart occupation. It would also happen to be a good time to research your city or town regulations and public health laws.
The next thing you must do is to search out and secure a location. A very good setting. It doesn’t matter if you sell the best tasting coffee in the whole world, if your spot is terrible you won’t succeed. One of the top locations for a coffee cart these days, is within a large hospital or medical building. There is a lot of traffic through these places and you literally have no competition. Here is a listing of other station suggestions to improve your search in your area.
**In amusement parks and localized festivals
**Hotel lobbies
**Airports
**Sporting events
**Office complexes
**Colleges
**Trade Shows
**Special Events
Be prepared to spend a premium amount monthly, to set up in some of these rental spaces.
Once you have your locale secured, the next step you need to take is to contact your local health department about their checklist of regulations and probably the permit. Both of these will also usually have fees attached as well. You will also need admittance to restroom facilities. Each district has specific health, sanitation and zoning regulations. Adhere to study them and you are complying with all of them. Typical health departments require access to a three compartment sink for clean up. So when you obtain your coffee cart, you need to affirm the basin compartments are built in.
Check out online venders that sell coffee carts and compare prices to get the greatest deal. You may even obtain a decent one on Ebay. Talk to other coffee cart vendors to pick up tips and maybe a good list of suppliers.
Once you have everything in place, remember to maintain simplisity. Make your cart attractive but uncluttered. The menu had best offer a variety, but not too much so that you overwhelm your customer with so many choices that they have trouble making up their minds and they eventually walk away. Follow the Keep-it-Simple principals!
Your sales with a well placed coffee cart can equal or exceed that of a conventional brick and mortar coffee shop. But your initial investment will be found one half to one tenth the cost of starting a coffee shop. Your investment risk is much lower and you have more positioning possibilities.
So if you are looking for a good career venture to get into, consider opening a coffee cart. Because one thing you can stand sure of is that coffee will never go out of style!