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Photo by Lexi Coon.
Bluff Park residents Zach and Hillarie Renta with their children inside their mobile coffee shop.
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Photo by Lexi Coon.
In addition to standard coffee drinks, The Wandering Coffee Co. offers affogato, an Italian-based coffee dessert with vanilla ice cream and espresso.
Most people will order their coffee to-go, but The Wandering Coffee Co. is one step ahead of its customers: the entire cafe is already to-go.
The Wandering Coffee Co., owned by Bluff Park residents Zach and Hillarie Renta, is a mobile coffee shop based out of Bluff Park.
“We are, I mean, essentially a full-service coffee shop — just on wheels,” Zach Renta said.
The duo thought of their idea after brainstorming different projects or startups they could work on. While Renta said they have done a few “small things” before — “more hobbies turned into businesses” — this will be their first full-business bid endeavor. But this won’t be The Wandering Coffee Co.’s first run around the block.
Zach and Hillarie Renta purchased the business and the coffee truck from a couple in Ohio who ran the coffee shop in their area. Zach Renta said they found it set up and ready to go almost as soon as they started looking more into the idea of a mobile coffee shop, and they made the purchase in October 2018. Their grand opening was not long after, on Nov. 10.
Neither had operated a coffee shop before, but they thought the mobility and flexibility of the shop would be a good fit so they wouldn’t have to quit their jobs in small-business lending or financial planning.
Renta said they “just knew we liked to drink it,” and thought it would be an easy thing to get into.
“But we were quick to find out there’s a lot more moving parts than you would really think,” he said. “Just because it’s coffee doesn’t … make it simple.”
They plan on having some crowd-pleasing classics on their menu. The Wandering Coffee Co. will have a variety of espresso and milk combinations, including cortados, cappuccinos and lattes.
Brewed coffee and pour-overs will also be available, with the pour-over options highlighted as single-origin coffee. The single-origin selection will change regularly depending on what is available, and the brewed coffee is a special blend purchased from Revelator Coffee Co.
Renta said it’s a different blend from what you can find in their shops — it’s a more traditional brew, he said, with a mellow, earthy, chocolate-y and full-bodied taste. The brew, dubbed an “adventure blend,” was designed with The Wandering Coffee Co. in mind, he said.
The coffee shop will also offer something a little less traditional in the Birmingham area: affogato. It’s more of a dessert drink, Renta said, made with vanilla ice cream or gelato and espresso. The espresso is poured over the dessert and as it melts, it becomes a sweet coffee drink.
They’ll also be offering a snack selection, such as fruit bowls and Clif Bars.
As of mid-November, Renta said they are planning on setting up The Wandering Coffee Co. at Shades Crest Park on the weekends, most likely from about 7 to 10 a.m., and then parking at local schools on the weekdays from about 6 to 8:30 a.m. This will give families a chance to enjoy the coffee at their leisure on the weekends and give parents dropping off kids at school a chance to grab a cup of coffee, catch up with friends and leave freshly caffeinated to take on the day.
Eventually, they would like to be able to take The Wandering Coffee Co. to different events and sports tournaments, or into the downtown Birmingham area.
“It just feels … really like a community-based business,” Renta said. “Coffee has always brought people together, and it just feels like we can help do that in our neighborhood and other neighborhoods around town.”
Learn more at thewanderingcoffeeco.com, or find them on social media for updated locations and hours.
