Mobile coffee bar
Hey everyone, I’m thinking about starting a mobile coffee bar / coffee cart business and wanted to get opinions from people who already work in this industry or have experience running one.
My plan is to start small and improve over time instead of investing in super expensive equipment right away. I’m considering starting with a Flair Espresso setup and a decent grinder. My current budget would be around $1200–$1500 for everything.
I already own some basic brewing gear like an AeroPress, V60 setup, a scale, and a manual grinder, so I was also thinking about offering filter coffee options in the beginning.
I wanted to ask:
- How profitable has it realistically been for you?
- What was the hardest part when starting?
- What equipment do you think is worth buying from the beginning, and what isn’t?
- Is it realistic to start manually with something like a Flair for small events?
- How did you get your first clients/events?
- What mistakes would you avoid if you had to start over from scratch?
I’d also really appreciate hearing honest experiences, both good and bad. My goal is to build something serious over time without spending my entire budget immediately.