Opening a drive-thru coffee stand

[Gigantomachia]

Hello,

I am in the process of opening a drive-thru coffee stand in a semi-small college town located in S. Illinois. There are currently a few small coffee shops and a Starbucks on campus. There are around 30,000 people in the general area, many are professors or medical personnel. There is NO drive-thru available in the area.

I am also trying to decide what type of drive-thru to purchase. Should I buy used? I have found a company that makes a nice portable trailer that is already set up for coffee and fruit drinks/smoothies for around $30,000. Is this a good purchase? I have been told to avoid used products since that can be a huge headache. Also it is portable so I could take to festivals around the area as well.

My questions are very general and any information about anything will be greatly appreciated. How should I pick a location? Is there too much risk opening the 1st drive-thru in the area? Etc., etc.

Thanks for any and all info.
Giggy. :grin:

 

[LiftOff]

I think the first step is to secure your location. Make sure you are at an intersection AND on the side of the street that the morning commuters are using.

The type & size of your building will be dictated by your location.

 

[espressovero]

You should contact my friend at Ionia-Atlantic Imports. They carry everything you need to get started. They are located in Marion IL and have accounts with several shops in the area. Nathan is a fountain of information that you can take advantage of even if you decide not to carry his products.
Contact him at "[email protected]".

 

[Gigantomachia]

You should contact my friend at Ionia-Atlantic Imports. They carry everything you need to get started. They are located in Marion IL and have accounts with several shops in the area. Nathan is a fountain of information that you can take advantage of even if you decide not to carry his products.
Contact him at "[email protected]".

Thanks.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hello Gigantomachia:

Congrats on your decision to open a drive thru. How far along are you in your process of opening? Meaning have you invested any monies into it yet? If not, then be sure you have your location secured and get something on paper first (like a letter of intent). This way you have something definate to work for and then invest your time and money for the rest of this project. I've seen way too many people that buy everything first only to find that they have no where to put it. As for buying new or used...that's up to you. If you know what to look for and how to inspect it then sometimes this is a good way to go especially if you have a limited budget to start off with. However, keep in mind that new always comes with at least a 1-year warranty.

Well that's my two cents for now...Good to be back from a long vacation :wink: