Mobile Coffee Truck Wheelys Café Enters Chinese Market: Are Mobile Coffee Trucks Legal and Can They Obtain Business Licenses?

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"Why did you decide to run a mobile coffee cart?"

Because I think driving through the streets and making coffee freely is a cool thing to do. When coffee is connected with various interesting things, it becomes part of life.

Compared to coffee shops, coffee carts can make people feel less constrained, and there are no fixed distances between tables and chairs, so people become less unfamiliar with each other. Whether it's between customers or between customers and baristas, there's more intimate communication.

Everyone sitting together under the city's night sky, watching the vehicles shuttling on the road, the coffee cart's lights warming a small area, where people can feel a moment of warmth and share each other's stories. Whether it's me or the customers, we all become friends because of coffee.

"Running a mobile coffee cart, does it make money?"

It's possible if you have entrepreneurial experience, professional coffee knowledge, deep understanding of coffee, and business management experience, but it's not absolute, and you can't fully invest yourself in the coffee cart business—it can only be treated as a side business. If you don't have entrepreneurial experience and don't know much about coffee, and you're purely following others because you see them making money from street vending, then don't consider running a coffee cart—keeping that money for other things might be better.

Don't compete with others, don't compete with others, don't compete with others! Act according to your abilities, and set up your coffee cart based on your actual situation. Also, don't just park randomly on the roadside to save parking fees, or park in particularly conspicuous places to get more people to notice, because once traffic police or urban management officers notice you, all your effort will be wasted.

I don't make money, but I don't lose money either, because I only treat the coffee cart as a side business. I set up shop when I'm free after work and the weather is good. I treat the mobile coffee cart as my own creation—choose cost-effective equipment, and make sure milk and coffee beans are fresh. Seriously make every cup of coffee, and treat every customer who comes with care. I really can't make much money, but I can recover my costs and meet more people.

"What do you need to prepare to run a mobile coffee cart?"

For a simple setup, you can prepare a vehicle with sufficient trunk space (if not, a bicycle or pushcart can also be considered, though only for making simple coffee), coffee machine, grinder, fresh coffee beans, bottled water, mobile power supply, various tools needed for making espresso, separate cleaning buckets, takeout materials, small decorations, lighting equipment, drink menu... and a Buddhist yet enthusiastic coffee cart owner.

For a more refined setup, you can prepare a vehicle with sufficient trunk space, coffee machine, grinder, fresh coffee beans, mobile power supply, bottled water, various tools needed for making espresso, hand grinder for pour-over coffee, tools needed for pour-over coffee, separate cleaning buckets, milk insulation box, edible ice insulation box, separate cleaning buckets, takeout materials, stickers for decorating drink packaging, 1-2 sets of outdoor tables and chairs, decorations for inside the car, outside the car, and customer seating area, lighting equipment, drink menu, banner signs, roof lights, speaker equipment... and a coffee cart owner with an interesting soul who is also enthusiastic.

"Do you need permits to run a mobile coffee cart?"

Absolutely yes. If you want to fully commit to and long-term operate a coffee cart, proper legal permits are essential. Policies vary from place to place, so you need to check the local food vendor management regulations. To legally operate a mobile coffee cart, you basically need a business license, health permit (these two require that you have a fixed catering establishment to apply), and a street occupation permit.

"I'm just doing it as a side business... then, then, then..."

This is not encouraging everyone to do this, but I understand everyone's thinking. The foot traffic for street coffee is directly proportional to the level of urban management control, so everyone can't just go to conspicuous places, nor should they think about making money from coffee carts.

"Where should I set up my mobile coffee cart?"

Try to choose places with decent foot traffic but not much urban management presence for business (a light suggestion, not advocacy!), and park in legal parking spots. If you want to cultivate regular customers and have stable foot traffic, you need to set up shop at the same time every day (unless the weather is very bad), and also try to choose the same location. When you have a stable customer base, even if you move locations later, customers will be willing to come.

"Is it really easy to get complaints when running a mobile coffee cart?"

Under normal circumstances, as long as you're not ostentatious, don't block the way, don't disturb residents, and maintain environmental hygiene, very few people will actually report or complain. Of course, malicious reports can't be ruled out. When the writer chatted with several friends who run coffee carts, this question was also asked, and everyone said that as long as you don't affect others, very few people complain about coffee cart operations.

People who come to support the coffee cart all understand the difficulties of running a coffee cart and the challenges of entrepreneurship. Some even if they don't buy anything will come over to chat, praise the coffee cart concept, and give positive comments—these are the motivations that keep the coffee cart going. If it were really easy to get complaints, not so many people would be doing this.

"Is it difficult to run a mobile coffee cart?"

Difficult! It's obviously very difficult to get rich through coffee and running coffee carts based on this passion alone.

But treating running a coffee cart as a side business or hobby is still a good choice. Persisting in what you like and love will always bring returns—it might be money, it might be connections, or perhaps you'll encounter more interesting things, making yourself more cheerful and making you treat life more seriously.

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