How an Iowa City resident is planning a mobile coffee shop that will bring java to your neighborhood

Rachael Scott is starting an Iowa City coffee shop that will provide curbside service.

As in, she'll do the brewing and the driving, bringing her mobile coffee truck right to your doorstep, or at least your neighborhood.

That’s the idea Scott had when she decided to pursue her own business, Café on the Go, set to hit Iowa City streets in mid-March.

Scott has spent six years at Cafe del Sol Roasting in Iowa City, learning the ropes and working her way up to lead coffee roaster.

But all the while, a new idea was percolating.

Scott had always wanted to own a business and had considered a storefront, but she also realized just how many coffee shops are in Iowa City.

So Scott began to think about how she could serve areas that didn’t have as many coffee shops, like the east side of town.

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Her dream, she said, is to bring her coffee to parks or places where people fish, so that people gathered there can get beverages conveniently.

“I take my daughter to Mercer Park every morning and I have to … make sure I have my own products with me before we get there,” Scott said. “It'd just be nice to already have a mobile unit or something there where the kids and the parents could just get a drink if they need to.”

Scott will post Café on the Go’s location online and on social media so that people will know where she will be. She’ll also take online orders and drop off products to people.

Tents and tables will be set up where Café on the Go is parked, and Scott will offer Wi-Fi to add to the café experience.

Cafe del Sol founder finds a 'successor' in Scott

Coffee roasting is a “science” to Scott, something she didn’t realize previously despite being a coffee drinker.

“I fell in love with just learning about the different beans and different roast levels. There’s just so much about it that I love,” she said. “And it is good to be able to give people fresh coffee.”

Scott said Cafe del Sol founder Stephen Dunham is teaching her everything she needs to know so that she can take over the business whenever he decides to retire. She will keep her job there while starting her solo venture.

“I've been hoping to find someone who would be interested as a successor, and I found somebody who I would like that to be. And so I presented it to Rachael. I think she was a little daunted but also excited at the prospect,” Dunham said.

For now, Scott will get to build something that is entirely hers with Café on the Go, Dunham said, but still related to the roasting business.

'I want everybody to be able to shine': Local resources help Scott build her business

Pastor Anthony Smith of New Creations International Church in Iowa City met Scott through the church’s child-care center. Scott brought her children there and later became a volunteer worker. It led to Scott being hired to work at the child-care center.

Smith recalled chatting with Scott about her aspirations. Scott would tell Smith about the managerial work she did at Cafe del Sol, and her interest in taking that further with a mobile coffee business.

“We talked about that all the time,” he said. “And that's how I knew it became a passion for her.”

Scott officially started Café on the Go in February 2021 and has worked out of a tent, participating in events like South District’s Diversity Market. She met people who were already customers of Cafe del Sol and was able to spread the word about her new business.

Café on the Go, when complete, will be a trailer attached to Scott's vehicle, equipped with an espresso machine, coffee maker, air pots and more.

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In the meantime, she wasn't sure about the next steps in growing a business of her own.

She participated in programs geared toward new business owners at the University of Iowa’s Venture School, through the Multicultural Development Center of Iowa and Empower in partnership with the Jane Boyd Community House, learning about things like marketing, building a social media presence and ways to finance her business.

It was an eye-opening experience for Scott, who had what she thought was an “amazing” business plan. She imagined getting investors from it, but soon learned it wasn’t quite as simple.

Through those programs, Scott realized an expanded menu at Café on the Go was essential despite her original intent to sell only coffee.

Café on the Go will serve lemonade and teas. Scott is connecting with local bakers who will let her serve their pastries.

“That way we're showcasing our talents, but other talents from people here in Iowa City,” she said. “I'm just all about supporting small businesses, and I want everybody to be able to shine through. So I figured, I'm not a baker and I do want to have pastries because I've got that whole café vibe.”

The coffee will be a mixture of Cafe Del Sol’s, as well as Scott’s own blends.

“Me and the staff at the day care were taste-testers of all her blends of coffee, so we've already had firsthand knowledge of how great it is,” Smith testified.

'A very wonderful feeling': Finding passion in making coffee

Before Scott discovered her love for coffee, she was trying to find something that was a fit for her.

The Chicago native has lived in Iowa for 17 years.

Scott studied culinary arts at Kirkwood Community College. She worked for fast-food chains, and at one point had a job in security.

But she wasn’t passionate about any of that, and she needed something that gave her time to be with her four children, the youngest of whom is 4.

Her employment at Café del Sol began in November 2015 as a second job. The business needed a delivery driver, so that’s what Scott did for a few months.

Dunham said Scott took an early interest in learning coffee roasting.

He said Scott was a “natural," recalling how she’d come up to him with a pan of beans out of the roaster and ask him questions about how it looked, if the beans were the right color and so on.

“Once I started roasting and just knowing that I'm creating something that everybody loves, and that I love myself, it was... a very wonderful feeling,” Scott said.

Scott works at Cafe Del Sol in the morning and the child-care center in the afternoon. She’s a full-time mother and a full-time businesswoman.

She does receive some help from her 13-year-old as well as her best friend to operate Café on the Go.

But it’s largely just Scott running this new business.

As Dunham puts it, Scott has “gumption.”

The idea of being a business owner, as well as someone who is being mentored to take over Cafe del Sol, is finally starting to sink in for Scott.

“I knew I always wanted to own a business, but I didn't think that it would happen or happen this soon," Scott said. "One day the opportunity presented itself and I jumped in, and a year later, it's actually taking off and growing to more than what I expected it to be.”

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Café on the Go is a mobile coffee truck that will soon serve Iowa City