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  • #31
    Re: Coffee Van Pictures

    Originally posted by robusto link=1159868364/15#27 date=1185712899
    Coffee Express?  Cafe Express?   Go Go Cafe?  Mmmm. Give Mr Whippy a run for his money.

    --Robusto
    in the same vein as the tourism advert australia where the bloody hell are ya...

    Bloody Good Coffee

    Whatchas think? ;D

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    • #32
      Re: Coffee Van Pictures

      New Zealands not to bad, but in Auckland theres five local councils to deal with. Some are good, some are a pain.
      We are called Coffee A Gogo. Some days its more like "mess a gogo". The wind and rain are a real pain some days. Trouble is the cold wet days are the busiest.
      See a Rancilio agent if you want a gas machine. Quite neat how they work with the flame self adjusting. I leave the gas going the whole time when on my run. It will be a cheap cremation if I do have a big crash!

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      • #33
        Re: Coffee Van Pictures

        In regards to fees, one operator charges $32000 fee, which gets you use ( not ownership) of a new suzuki van setup. Then charges $450 a week fee + your coffee supplies cost!
        Ive set up vans for $20000. Dont spend to much on the van. A $1000 van makes the same tasting coffee as a new Merecedes Vito. People spend to much setting up, and cant recover the cost.
        My espresso engineer modifies the Rancilio quite well. Has added a small boiler along the main boiler to preheat smaller amounts of water entering the main boiler. Steam recovery will always be a problem as the heat is on the outside of the boiler, not inside like an element.
        Have you seen the new Mega truck coffeee vans .Cute.

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        • #34
          Re: Coffee Van Pictures

          Time for me to chime in here. Its a bit of a rant, but makes for good reading.
          I have personally built several coffee vans, I have had first hand experience in the industry.

          I have been involved since it began in Sydney, about 7 or 8 years ago, when my friend converted an Icecream van to serve coffee. It was terrible to work in, noisy, uncomfortable and really hot in summer. Back then the customers didnt care what the van looked like, as long as it was clean inside, and you turned up on time to deliver fresh quality coffee, without them needing to leave the office.

          The Coffee Van industry started to emerge, we built a new a van you work from the inside. A quality fit out with running hot water and twin sinks for cleaning, as we had in the converted ice cream van and the business grew to a third van.
          A northern beaches operater concieved a Van that you stood outside to work. They were cheap to produce and re sell as a franchise, and small enough to operate from home. They didnt meet the basic rules of hygeiene, no sinks and food handled with no reagard to any health laws.

          This was the turning point in the industry as I see it. This van was too easy to re produce, and every one did. There are several coffee van franchises , represented in nearly every state spawned (copied without permission) form this ill concieved abortion of a van. In Sydney, the sheetmetal company fitting out these vans wasnt even loyal to the original operator or inventer, making them to order for any one that enquired.

          In Sydney this industry is at saturation levels, there are NO MORE exclusive territories, or quality stops. Once when canvassing for new stops we were politely greeted, and the new customers enthusiastic. Now we get "Oh not another !@#$% Coffee Van". This is due to the proliferation of the vans, but also due to cowboy operators. Like any Business, to get a return you need to invest and Im talking about time. Most of the better stops have developed over years, and the customers treat you like friends. We interact with them on a personal level and know them by name. Many of our stops have come from impatient cowboy operators, who have abandoned, or annoyed themselves out of potential sales due to impatience. This very attitude has also prevented us from getting stops. Like the old saying, once bitten. I know of one operator that washes their utensils in a public toilet at the end of the day. The Sydney councils seem incapable of policing this and the industry is suffering as a whole

          I encourage individuals who are keen to have a go to do thier research thoroughly, and for the un initiated, here are some tips.

          Each person at a stop represents a $5.00 spend if you average out the sales.
          How many $5.00 sales will it take to make a living and repay your investment on a weekly basis ?
          What is the average number of employees per business where you plan to operate ?
          Based on the answer to the previous questions, how many times will you need to stop to make required number of $5.00 sales ?
          Are there enough businesses in the area to call on ?
          Are there enough coffee van (7:30 to 13:00) trading hours in the day to make required number of stops ?
          Remember every one wants you to call between 10:00 and 11:00, you cant be in two places at once.
          Cleanliness costs nothing, and should ba a non negotiable standard
          Only serve from private property by invitation, to avoid the wrath of your local council
          Liability insurance is a must
          Be punctual. If you stop 20 times, are late to each stop and miss 2 $5.00 sales per stop, you just lost $200 in takings. Do that for a week, and there goes $1000.00

          The Van:
          It is your office for 6 hours a day, you need to be reasonably comfortable or it will become tiring
          If working a smaller outside van, is there adequate shelter for inclement weather ?
          Reliability is important, if you break down you arent earning.
          The genset will cost the most money (except vehicle) and no, a tradesmans genset wont do the job. plan on spending from $7,000 up to $15,000 for diesel reliability
          If the council is interested, seek the requirements for health reglations, ensure you comply and seek certification.

          I am happy to assist any one entering this industry, or any one already in it for that matter.

          Wayne.

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          • #35
            Re: Coffee Van Pictures

            Sounds like sage and generous advice to me Wayne.

            bantam: I think spending $1k on a van is a HUGE risk and likely to end in tears, unless of course, you dont intend actually taking the van for a drive... ;D ;D

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            • #36
              Re: Coffee Van Pictures

              Nice Van BS, I checked out your website and some things did not show up like your menu. Can I make one suggestion though. If putting picture on the web. (Like you map) make convert the pictures into JPG or GIF files rather than BMP files. BMP files are generally a lot larger and take longer to show up on the screen, a real pain for people with dialup.

              Another than that cool setup.

              Good luck with it all.
              Cheers

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Coffee Van Pictures

                Thanks goodies, can see what you mean about the load up time on the site.

                Coffee mogul your 2 vans arnt the "groove aroma" vans are they? They match the fitout that you described. As for the "exlusive territories" HA that are already filled with franchises wait for them to get filled even more by new franchises popping up in WA and VIC who are offering cheaper setups (alas still over priced). Victoria hasnt been overwhelmed like QLD and NSW yet but give it a year or two, cafe2u has even got radio adds plugging them now down here.

                As to our van we have sold the business recently and are looking towards the future. Our experiences with it have been mixed. The best times: Doing events with fimilar faces that appreciate your coffee and your presence. The worst: Canvassing new businesses that arnt interested and some genny problems. With overall the good outweighing the bad Im glad I designed, built and operated the business from scratch.

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                • #38
                  Re: Coffee Van Pictures

                  Bit of a bump but its amazing the amount of people that have called me from just finding my number off the image at the top. Just shows how little information there is out there on deciding on whether to go indy or franchise and the price differences involved. If anyone has any questions regarding the process or requirements involved happy to continue answering any calls 0410292962 or just pm me.

                  Would be truely intersting to have a tally of how many vans are out there now...

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                  • #39
                    Re: Coffee Van Pictures

                    Heaps, then you add to that the number of weekend warriors there are out there with an old machine and a grinder and you can say 4 * heaps. A fellow CS told me about how there were 3 people booked in to sell coffee at a small local market .

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