We were lucky to catch up with Benjamin And Rachel Hathaway recently and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin and Rachel , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Both of us worked in drive through coffee shops during school. We were accustomed to accessible coffee, however there was still one catch – you had to drive there. We began to think of ways to make specialty coffee more accessible, to bring the flavor and experience we made at home with our own equipment, to other people.

We listened to the origin story of a cafe in North Carolina, where they explained that they built a mobile cart, and traveled to different events and locations. They went to places I never thought of, like offices, and sporting events, and birthday parties. This system was so well received it allowed them to open a brick and mortar cafe. We’ve seen coffee trucks and trailers, but those still have many limitations. We wanted to make a coffee experience so remarkable it felt like coffee had always belonged right here, on your wedding day, or in your office.

The design began as cardboard- a 3d model to test the tracks of a modular design. Then it was a digital model, and then it was reality. We spent over a year saving, planning, and organizing a specialty coffee cart, a cart that was functional, compact, transportable, and aesthetic. We knew we wanted to launch this in Kansas City, our home, and the home of dense community of coffee lovers, people who are adventurous and want coffee wherever they are. After our very first event, we received an overwhelming interest in our business, and realized that this was not longer a dream, or a hobby, it was a real need that was being met in our community. This gave us the courage for more investments, and more commitment.

Benjamin and Rachel , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Remington Coffee Company is a mobile coffee cart that provides a cafe feel, at any event. Our goal is to make specialty coffee accessible everywhere. We use ethically sourced beans, and house made syrups to achieve an organic flavor.

All drinks are handcrafted on our cart, providing patrons not only with a drink they’ll enjoy, but with an experience they can engage with.

We’re a small business, so when you book our services, or buy a drink from us, that money goes directly back to the cart, which allows us to offer affordable pricing without compromising quality.

We offer a variety of packages, tailored to each event. We even make custom drink menus! Not a coffee fan? We also offer non-coffee beverages such as teas, and hot chocolate.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

We’ve found the most success in building relationships with people. We treat every customer like they are a potential investor, because they are. Every latte someone buys is a step forward for our company. It means that people are interested in the service we provide.

We use events and social like a two way street: if you find us at an event, follow us on social media. If you find us on social media, come meet us at an event. We want people to feel connected to what they are supporting. We’ve had customers tells us about events to attend or organizations to work with. We use word of mouth religiously. It’s good, old fashioned marketing. We’re all more trustworthy when we have a friend who knows someone, right?

Something that helped us gain a lot of visual attention was participating in a styled photo shoot for wedding venue. We traded coffee for the team for professional photos, connections with coordinators, and exposure at an open house. It can be scary donating services, but it gave us content to work with, and names to reach out, which were just as valuable as anything else. We knew we wanted to be in the wedding industry, and this was the perfect intro.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

We’re both self taught when it comes to specialty coffee. We learned so much working as baristas, but we still made quite a few changes.

We make all of our beverages on the cart. Even our syrups are house made! We found this provides the most authentic flavor profile, and keeps our price per product more affordable.

We source our beans from a specialty roaster who has become our friend. We lived in Lynchburg VA for school, and ended up at the same coffee shop to buy beans time after time. We asked him about wholesaling for us, and the rest is history!

We do not manufacture espresso equipment, although Ben is very skilled at making repairs and adjustments.

One of the things we’ve learned is how to make drinks for other people. We’ve made many alterations, from grind setting, to time, to temperature, to ensure the perfect drink for our customers. We’ve had to change ratios for different drinks. We don’t want to serve okay coffee, or even good coffee. Coffee should be excellent, and it should be enjoyed. We’ve created a flavor profile that we believe optimizes the taste and experience of espresso.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.remingtoncoffee.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remingtoncoffeeco/profilecard/?igsh=czR6Zmlycm95amZq
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561989697325&mibextid=JRoKGi

Image Credits

Honey Works Photography

Content by Kenna

Remington Coffee Company