Article

From cart to truck: Entrepreneur helps sustain Seattle’s unique coffee scene

Celeste Clark has been part of the Seattle coffee scene for more than three decades and has changed with the times. A cart operator in the 1990s, she now has an espresso truck that she believes sustains the coffee community culture she has long cherished.

Celeste Clark serves a customer at her espresso truck.

March 6, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

The gourmet food truck has revolutionized foodservice. In Seattle, the specialty coffee capital, it has also revived the culture of the once-dominant coffee cart by literally giving it wheels.

Celeste Clark, a one-time coffee cart operator, offers an example of how the gourmet coffee truck helped rejuvenate the informal gathering spots that coffee carts created in the 1980s. Clark operated her Celesto Espresso cart from 1991 to 1996, and now runs a coffee truck under the same name. 

The Celesto Espresso truck serves most of the same drinks as the coffee cart sold in the 1990s.

In the 1980s, there were hundreds of coffee carts in Seattle and as many as 20 coffee cart manufacturers, according to a 2010 Seattle Times article. 

Coffee carts gradually declined through the 1990s as coffee shops began offering comfortable chairs and free WiFi. According to the Seattle Times article, only two coffee carts remained on the city"s streets that year, although there were still some in malls and building lobbies and on private property.

Some coffee carts, such as Espresso Vivace, actually became coffee shops, similar to the way some food trucks transform into restaurants. As for what actually caused the demise of Seattle's coffee carts, some observers said local regulations played a role while others pointed to rising rents and operating costs, according to the Seattle Times article.

The journey begins

In her early twenties, Clark was well aware of the specialty coffee scene in 1987 when she began working at Pike's Place Market, the original home of Starbucks and numerous other coffee businesses. She eventually went to work for the Stewart Brothers coffee bar, the forerunner of Seattle's Best Coffee, which Starbucks eventually acquired. 

"It was one of the coolest Seattle (coffee) bars," Clark said, thinking back on that early coffee job. "I loved the vibe," she said. "It was a really fun place to work. I liked the feel of a small business and the camaraderie."

In addition, she said, "We learned a lot about coffee."

At the time, the specialty coffee industry was much simpler, as there wasn't near the variety of drinks that now exist.

"It was just very pure, and everybody was really into the coffee," Clark said. "I had it in my head early on that I wanted to start a small business."

Phase 2: the espresso cart 

When an acquaintance offered to lease her an espresso cart near a downtown medical building, she agreed to try it on a test basis.

"I wanted to test drive it before committing to building my own cart," she said.

She found she liked operating the cart, and agreed — with a business partner — to lease it. But they soon realized that the $1,400 monthly rent was excessive.

They wanted to have their own cart, so they purchased a used cart with a sink, an espresso machine and a refrigerator. They refurbished the cart and got a business license.

The Celesto Espresso cart served espresso, cappuccino, Americano, lattes, mochas, hot chocolate, teas, Italian soda and cider — and sourced the coffee from different roasters. The cart did well, and Clark was eventually able to buy out her partner.

Phase 3: coffee education

In 1996, she decided she wanted to learn more about coffee, so she sold the cart and took a management job with Tully's Coffee, a roaster/retailer that eventually expanded into a multi-unit chain.

"I heard really good things about the company, and I wanted to learn a lot more about coffee," she said.

At Tully's Coffee she learned how to roast coffee and became a roaster for the company. She learned roasting intricacies such as how adjusting time and temperature impacted acidity.

"I learned specialty coffee as a barista and as a roaster," she said. "I learned nuts and bolts of how to put out a lot of coffee when I was working for a large corporation."

A friend eventually recruited her to help a small coffee shop compete in a barista competition. Her roast won first place in the U.S. and thirteenth place worldwide. 

Phase 4: the espresso truck

By the late 2000s, Clark had moved to Zoka Coffee, another roaster, and began noticing gourmet food trucks. She also noticed there were no coffee trucks. She missed operating her espresso cart, so in 2013, she became an entrepreneur once again by investing in a truck under the same name — Celesto Espresso — while still working as a roaster for Zoka Coffee.

The 1964 truck has been refurbished and fitted with espresso machine, grinders and a power generator.

"I had good memories of having my espresso cart, and I saw that there wasn't any (coffee truck) in Seattle, and I felt like there should be one, and that I should do it," she said.

She purchased a 1964 espresso truck which had a layout she liked. She refurbished the truck, which now has built-in refrigeration, a 40-gallon stainless water tank, an espresso machine, two large grinders and a 7,000-watt power generator. She spent $9,000 for the truck itself, but did not wish to reveal the total investment.

"I worked on it for a long time before I was able to get it up to code," she said.

After getting her permit, she took the truck out on weekends to a lake park, the Center for Wooden Boats, a boat rental/education station, at South Lake Union. 

Three years later, she got a break when Amtrak was looking for a vendor to sell drip coffee and espresso at one of its Seattle terminals.

"It"s an awesome location," she said.

Hers is the only food truck at the location at the terminal. She continues to source her coffee from Zoka, and has one part-time employee.

Clark has recovered her investment in the truck and the business is profitable and growing.

She is now focusing on training her employee.

"There's a lot to it that I have not completely given over," she said. "I haven't been able to take vacations and have the truck be covered." 

An industry in flux

Over the years, the specialty coffee industry has expanded and provided a lot of options to coffee retailers.

"When I started in specialty coffee, we had whole milk and coffee. And now … it's an unlimited field … how coffee is processed and cleaned and fermented. … It's just always continuing to evolve," she said. 

While she believes hers was one of the first espresso trucks in Seattle, others have since emerged, including one she provided with consulting. 

Clark, now 55, maintains that coffee trucks, like the coffee carts that came before them, create gathering spaces in ways that retail stores cannot. 

"There's a lot of potential in this industry," she said.

Photos courtesy of Celesto Espresso.
 

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.