Hello breve'man:
First may I ask you what part of the country are you in? This will make a difference in your approach to starting this kind of business. If you are located somewhere where espresso drinks are already established it will be a little easier to reach your goal. However, if you are located where these drinks have not caught on yet, you will have to introduce it. If this is the case, you may have a long uphill battle. I'm not trying to discourage you, just wanting to put this up front. It will be virtually impossible to put together this kind of business (drive thru) for 10K including the equipment and building unless you get a major buddy deal or find someone having a distress sale and just wants out. Also, if you are looking to get into this business cheap, that is what you will produce, CHEAP. As in any business, do your home work properly, plan properly, and build properly. May I suggest that you visit our website and print out the FREE catalog we offer for people like yourself. This will give you a better idea of what to expect and then you can determine for yourself if this is what you want to do.
I do agree with topher's points regarding the use of a 110 machine. It won't survive in a drive thru enviroment. We've built a number of drive thru locations in addition to assisting others in doing the same with our no nonsense approach. They are all doing well. We have customers from Hoonan, AK to Binghampton, NY with drive thrus and I'm sure they will tell you as well, that if you invest the money, do it right.
The espresso drive thru business in Seattle has been strong for a number of years, and now it is beginning to finally catch on else where.
If you are serious about wanting to do this, contact me. This is what we do.
"Happy New Year!"