Espresso To Go -- Espresso Successo -- Entrepreneurs Find Region's Coffee Carts Are Steaming With Business And Profits
It's a cool, gray morning in late summer. On Capitol Hill, buses roar down Broadway. Motorists honk their horns. People are hurrying to work.
But behind a bright-red pushcart called Vivace, two espresso makers have drawn a crowd.
Dressed in T-shirts and denim shorts, the pair behind the cart takes orders for a latte, a double mocha, triple shot espresso, and double latte decaffeinated with low fat milk.
A rich aroma of coffee beans scents the air as they tap freshly ground beans into a stainless steel ``portafilter,'' insert the device into a groove on their machine and flip a switch that causes hot steamed water to force its way through the grinds and produce a brown, creamy brew.
As they work, they banter, joke and laugh. They're selling Seattle coffee on the street, and they seem to love every minute.
Such is the world of Seattle espresso entrepreneuring, pushcart style.
In the early 1980s, espresso carts were novelties, limited to a couple of downtown tourist spots. Today they're everywhere - outside banks, office buildings and hardware stores; near bookstores, post offices, groceries, libraries, hospitals and department stores.
As a business, these carts can be lucrative. Starting the street-corner coffee ventures can take as little as $10,000. Daily sales for most average 250 to 300 cups. The carts can become profitable within a few months.
``It's a great enterprise for someone who wants to start a business but doesn't have a lot of capital to do so,'' says Roger DeGaetano, marketing director of Burgess Enterprises, a Seattle manufacturer of espresso carts.
The company formerly sold mostly restaurant equipment. In 1984, it got into the espresso machine and cart-making business. Now, sales of espresso equipment make up nearly 40 percent of its $3 million in annual sales.
If you sell 300 cups a day, you can gross $144,540 a year, DeGaetano said, less the cost of the coffee, milk, cups and such, but not including rent, insurance, wages, taxes and other overhead expenses which can vary widely. Those varying costs make net profits hard to determine.
But one entrepreneur, Robin Wright, is making enough to put herself through college on the sales that her cart inside R.E.I.'s Capitol Hill store generates.
Kate Stuller, used to sell espresso drinks from her cart, Mi Piace Caffe, outside the Wallingford Center. When she moved to a Food Giant grocery across the street, her daily sales improved. That did not deter John Vanderwel, who moved into Stuller's old spot and averages 250 cups a day.
Outside a North King County shopping mall, two sisters, Rhea Winberg and Jacqueline Mann, have opened a cart inside a drive-up kiosk. Though they've been only eight months and have done no marketing, lines are typical during rush hour. Similar kiosks have sprung up in South Snohomish County.
On a recent morning, Jill Trohimovich, the Seattle/King County Department of Health specialist who licenses mobile food carts, got five calls in three hours from people who wanted to open espresso carts. She reviews 10 to 15 plans for such carts a month.
``They take up at least half my work time,'' she said. ``A lot of people are into them.''
While selling coffee on the street has its drawbacks, many say the business has helped them escape boring office jobs to help enhance the spirit of neighborhood retail districts. Others simply have seen dollar signs.
When Wallingford operator Vanderwel returned to Seattle after 15 years, he was struck by the proliferation of coffee carts.
While he had never drunk a latte and was no espresso fan, he recognized the business possibilities, and 18 months ago invested $15,000 in a cart, an ice cooler, cash register and two-week supply of coffee, cups and other inventory.
Vanderwel set up the first cart near the Nature Co. in the Pike Place Market, and has since opened carts in Magnolia and Wallingford. His fourth will open Oct. 15 in West Seattle. Sales average 250 to 300 cups a day per cart.
But Vanderwel isn't content to keep the operation in Seattle. This winter, he hopes to try out the espresso pushcart concept in Florida.
``Seattle has something hot,'' he said. ``Introducing it to new areas could be an exciting challenge.''
Like many espresso entrepreneurs, Vanderwel credits Nordstrom with starting the fad.
As the retailer's corporate espresso bar manager Tony Powell tells it, the Nordstrom family became enamored with Italian espresso, and as an experiment, placed a cart outside the downtown store in 1982.
Customers were taken by the idea that Nordstrom added carts or enclosed bars to its other stores.
Others sat up and took note. If a fashion retailer can sell coffee from a cart, they asked, why couldn't they?
``I get phone calls all the time, and not just from Seattle,'' Powell said. ``People wondering what it takes to get started.''
Opening an espresso cart isn't all that easy, though, contends Dave Schomer, owner of the Vivace cart on Broadway and a second cart downtown.
Once, an awning blew off Schomer's Broadway cart. Before he could rescue it, a passing car ran over it and crushed it beyond repair. He also has had to contend with ``tip thieves.'' Even the nightly tasks of wheeling an 800-pound coffee cart from its street location to a storage area a couple blocks away can get tiring, he says.
``I love working in the street and watching business people mix with street people,'' he says.
But he says, ``people forget that like any small business you're putting in 16-hour days and giving it your life, 100 percent. You can make money, eventually, but there's no overnight success.''
Much of Schomer's learning came from experience. A former professional flutist, he opened his first cart two years ago outside the Washington Mutual Bank on Broadway.
Even though espresso was popular downtown and at shops such as Starbucks, his cart confused many pedestrians at first. A few thought he was selling hot dogs.
For 18 months, he took no salary. Eventually, his waiting paid off. While he would not disclose specific sales, he said his two carts together sell 600 cups a day. He has 10 employees, most of whom earn $8 to $12 an hour with tips, and in busy months, he says he earns a net profit that is as high as 28 percent of sales.
``If you've got a site that draws a high volume of pedestrians or other traffic, you can wait and eventually the public will flow to you,'' Schomer says.
To open a cart on the street or in a city park, entrepreneurs must obtain a permit from the city. Those who open in front of businesses, such as banks, usually pay the landlord a monthly rent ranging from 5 to 10 percent of gross sales. A health department permit is required for all carts.
Cart manufacturers such as Burgess will help entrepreneurs find a site. Many operators, however, say they picked their spots by driving through their favorite neighborhoods and looking for a place where pedestrians would gather.
David Lower, a former hospital supply technician, discovered that when he opened his cart, Kaffe Works, outside the Westin Building 15 months ago he created a new gathering spot.
Employees in the Westin used to walk several blocks to carts near Westlake or simply put up with the institutional coffee served in their offices. Now, they only have to take an elevator.
``I'm here every day, sometimes twice a day,'' said customer Al Santos, who makes Federal Express deliveries to the Westin. ``A latte, americana, it's a great break right here.''
Lower now goes through 25 pounds of coffee a week, five gallons of milk a day and at least 300 cups and napkins daily. His initial $10,000 investment was paid off in six months.
Like others, though, Lower admits the job can be tough. He has no employees, so he must lock his cash box and leave the cart unattended to take a bathroom break. He eats his lunch standing up, serving customers between bites.
Most cart owners buy their coffee from Seattle roasters such as Starbucks, Torrefazione Italia, SBC (formerly Stewart Brothers), Caffe Mauro and the Good Coffee Co. One cart typically uses five pounds daily.
As of late August, 145 mobile food carts had permits to operate, according to the Seattle/King County health department. Department specialist Trohimovich said espresso carts make up the majority.
The downtown retail district is the most saturated with espresso carts. They are outside all the major department stores and office buildings and banks between Union and Pine streets.
The high concentration has prompted new entrepreneurs to seek less traditional sites.
Bruce Turner, laid off from his job with an office coffee service company last year, needed to find a new income source in a hurry.
An espresso lover, Turner had been trying to convince his company to sell more specialty coffees. A friend was starting a cart near Greenlake and his mother worked at a pushcart in Juanita. He decided to give the enterprise a try.
He invested $14,000 in the cart, and began to search for a site near his home. He wound up at a Food Merchant grocery in Mountlake Terrace.
He sells about 200 cups a day and pays Food Merchant $200 a month in rent. He now has monthly sales of about $10,000 and an annual gross income of $35,000.
``A grocery store obviously brings in a lot of people, and espresso is getting more mainstream, in the Seattle area,'' Turner said. `` A lot of people who shop here have had it in Seattle. It's a real treat for them to get it close to home.''
When sisters Mann and Winberg decided to quit their office jobs and open an espresso cart, they wanted to try a different twist. The result: Espresso Junction, a pushcart in a kiosk outside the Ballinger Shopping Center in North King County, opened eight months ago.
``There's carts all over the place,'' Mann said. ``But we kept noticing there wasn't any way to get an espresso drink without leaving your car.''
They obtained their cart for about $11,000 and invested an additional $9,000 to build the kiosk. As cars drive up, Mann and Winberg stand at opposing sides and take orders from two drive-through windows.
Driving through Capitol Hill to canvass for a political campaign about four years ago, Jan Denali noticed the neighborhood had no place where motorists could park easily and pick up an espresso drink.
That prompted her to buy a cart for about $10,000 and set up outside the Capitol Hill Thriftway at 14th Avenue and Pine Street, where she drew a loyal, if small following.
Unfortunately, she adds, it was too small.
Unable to generate enough volume to justify her costs, Denali moved about two years ago to a new spot outside the City People's Mercantile on 15th Avenue East. She now sells 350 to 400 cups on a good day.
But she admits her success carries a price. At her old site, business was leisurely enough for her to create an outdoor coffee house of sorts. Customers would gather near her cart to listen to radio news and discuss hot political issues.
Now, long lines keep her too busy to get to know more than a few customers closely.
``I'm happy that I'm doing so well, of course,'' she says. ``But I do miss the older days a bit. It was very personal, less intense.''
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PROFITS BREWING FOR COFFEE CARTS
WHAT DO PEOPLE BUY
Espresso 3% ;
Cafe Mocha 5% ;
Flavored Latte 7% ;
Cappuccino 10% ;
Cafe Latte 75% ;
;
GROSS PROFITS: Average yearly sales minus cost of coffee, cups, milk, etc.
100 CUPS PER DAY $48,180 ;
300 CUPS PER DAY $144,540 ;
600 CUPS PER DAY $289,080 ;
_ Does not include rent, insurance costs, wages, benefits, taxes, and other overhead expenses.
;
HOW MUCH DOES A CUP OF COFFEE COST?
Based on $5 per pound cost for coffee
;
ESPRESSO
Total Cost: 12 Cents ;
Coffee: 8 Cents ;
Cup, Napkins, etc.: 4 Cents ;
;
CAFE LATTE
Total Cost: 21 Cents ;
Coffee: 8 Cents ;
Milk: 6 Cents ;
Cup, Napkins, etc.: 7 Cents ;
;
CAPPUCCINO
Total Cost: 21 Cents ;
Coffee: 8 Cents ;
Milk: 6 Cents ;
Cup, Napkin, etc.: 7 Cents ;
;
CAFE MOCHA
Total Costs: 26 Cents ;
Coffee: 8 Cents ;
Milk: 6 Cents ;
Flavoring: 5 Cents ;
Cup, Napkin, etc.: 7 Cents ;
;
FLAVORED LATTE
Total Cost: 33 Cents ;
Coffee: 8 Cents ;
Milk: 6 Cents ;
Flavoring: 12 Cents ;
Cup, Napkin, etc.: 7 Cents ;
;
-- Espresso: A thick, flavorful coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans that causes flavor to be extracted from the grind.
-- Americana: hot water added to espresso.
-- Cafe latte: hot steamed milk added to espresso, usually topped with milk froth.
-- Cappuccino: a mixture of steamed milk and frothed milk added to espresso.
-- Cafe mocha: a latte with chocolate flavoring.
-- Flavored latte: a latte flavored with Italian syrup, usually almond, vanilla or hazelnut.