A 4-foot-wide and 10-foot-long sky-blue compact van is changing the way coffee is served here in Wilmington. Kei Café, owned and operated by Timo Andrews, started selling coffee out of the back of his 1996 Honda Acty Street Van in late August. Monday through Thursday, Andrews parks and serves coffee from 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. outside of the UNCW Student Recreation Center.
Andrews worked as a wedding photographer for five years before opening Kei Café. He explains how the amount of labor and cost that goes into being a wedding photographer is more tasking compared to operating his coffee shop.
“Adding up everything from the work of a wedding photographer is about $8 an hour after you take into consideration of expenses such as a camera, insurance, editing and technology,” said Andrews. “I have two kids at home, and I am just done babysitting people and the long hours.”
Andrew fell in love with coffee as he started to spend time editing photos for weddings in local coffee shops. He expressed how he loves the experience of coffee and coffee shops much like how one may love the experience of finding the perfect bar to grab a drink at.
“You start finding your favorite coffee shops and you start learning about coffee,” said Andrews. “There is just as much information about coffee as there is about photography.”
Although Kei Café has been serving coffee for over two months now, it has taken Andrews a year and a half of behind-the-scenes work to get the café rolling on its wheels. Andrews learned a lot about opening a business here in Wilmington throughout the process of opening his shop.
“In any business,” said Andrews, “You either live by the numbers or you die by the numbers. I just want to nail coffee first.”
Andrews offers a small menu of ten items for customers to choose from. Andrew explains how being a wedding photographer has taught him how to be creative when working with limited options.
“Keeping the menu as simple as possible ends up being better for everyone,” said Andrews.
However, due to the simple menu and limited space in the van, Andrews has to be particular about the type of drinks he serves. Andrews serves lattes (hot or iced), Americano’s, and matcha lattes. Andrews bases a lot of his drinks around caramel. He goes through about five pounds of caramel every two days. He tries to avoid sugary sweetness in his coffee so that his customers can get a true taste of the coffee bean. Andrews sources his coffee from 8th and Roast coffee beans from Nashville, Tenn.
After all of the effort to start his coffee business, Andrews says that selling coffee out of his van is to not only make a living but to build a connection with customers who support him.
“People are still learning who I am, and I am still learning my business,” said Andrews. “I’m so incredibly blessed and happy to be here.”
