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Permalink Reply by Neal on April 22, 2012 at 5:19am

There really isn't much difference that I can tell except the size of them. A kiosk will have multiple sides and may be a bit more permanent. The decision will probably fall on you once you know what all you want to sell. A cart does not normally have its own power source, although a few folks that use them outside have come up with some interesting means of powering them. What they do have is everything you need to run the espresso machine/grinder/cash register and whatever else you will plan to use, but need to plug in to an outlet.

The kiosks that I have seen in my area basically started with a 8' or so cart and adding matching units to it to form a kiosk, normally 3 or 4 sided.

Once you know what all you plan to sell, you will be able to tell how much counter space you need. I don't think a cart will allow much more than your typical espresso based drinks. If you want smoothies and some food you will probably need more space.

My questions would be, out of those 1000 people, how many can be expected to buy something daily?

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Doulass on April 22, 2012 at 10:34am

Thanks for the insight Neal.  I am still working on crunching numbers to see if my location is going to be sufficient.  Once I finish up an analysis of the numbers I will have a better idea of how many customers I may expect daily.  

Aren't you starting something along the same lines as I am?  Are you starting a cart within a business?  What kind of traffic are you expecting and how large of a business are you thinking of using to set up shop?  Are you leaning towards a cart or a kiosk?

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Permalink Reply by Neal on April 22, 2012 at 3:59pm

Yes I am planning basically the same thing. I do plan to start a cart within a business as well, leaning towards a hospital of at least 500 employees or so. With a relatively busy hospital, it should have a good amount of foot traffic as well as people waiting around that might want a good cup of coffee.

My best guess on my setup will be a cart with a smaller end cart for bagels and junk. I am at the research phase as well as I got my espresso machine up and running at home to practice with.

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Permalink Reply by Coffee Haven on August 12, 2012 at 12:59pm

Hi Neal/Andrew,

I have exactly what you've described as a kiosk made up of 2 8 ft carts and a separate mobile support unit for counter top space and public health requirements. All of our units is on wheels for easy transport. It is a beautifully designed cart with all appliances including a barely used 2 group rancilio epoca espresso machine. If you two are still in the market for a kiosk, let me know if you are interested. Nancy nhouang22@gmail.com (LA area - willing to accommodate transportation cost depending on where). Thanks. Nancy

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