The Coffee Cart Playbook: How the Right Equipment Can Make (or Break) Your Catering Business

Justin Goodhart calls himself a warehouse troll.

His happy place is in the workshop, welding cart frames, 3D printing menu holders, tinkering with transport configurations. He spent months with a tape measure and calipers perfecting his cart dimensions.

This episode exists because one caterer asked: “We never realized how much the GS3 is holding us back because it’s so heavy.”

That question unlocked a conversation about every equipment decision that determines whether your coffee catering business can scale.

The Espresso Machine Question

The La Marzocco GS3 is hands-down the best single-group 120-volt espresso machine money can buy. If it never has to move.

“It’s the equivalent of driving a Ferrari. You want to signal that you’re in the club. But these machines are very heavy, very awkward, and hard to lift, especially if your countertop is high.”

Justin owns a GS3. It was the second machine he bought. He doesn’t recommend it.

Why? Because equipment decisions cascade. The espresso machine you choose determines:

• Who you can hire (can a 5’8” person lift it alone?)
• How many carts you can afford (GS3s cost $7K each)
• What vehicles you need (can it fit in an SUV?)

At Goodhart Coffee, they use the Lelit Bianca. It’s lighter, cheaper, and produces excellent shots. Other solid options: the A53 Luca, Linea Mini, and many others.

The key variables are weight, dimensions, and price. Not prestige.

“As long as you understand the trade-off: you’re limiting your barista pool, you need to send two people per event, and your fleet expansion will be slower.”

Cart Design: The Second Bottleneck

Justin’s two biggest operational bottlenecks for scaling coffee caterers:

1. The cost, size, and weight of your espresso machine
2. Whether you need a fleet of Sprinter vans to transport equipment

Both connect to cart design.

The rule: Minimize the cubic size of your setup in transit.

Stack all your equipment in a pile. Length, width, height. That determines what vehicles can move it. Flat-packing carts give you flexibility. Permanent carts require dedicated vehicles.

“Even if you go the large van route, paying attention to cubic size means more carts per van. Or you can borrow somebody’s SUV. It gives you so much operational flexibility in challenging moments.”

Critical dimensions:

• Width: Under 30 inches (ideally 26-28). This lets you fit through narrow doors, passenger elevators, and 1960s office buildings.
• Length: Under 5 feet. Justin had a 6-foot cart for years. It fit most places, but he still couldn’t get into certain elevators.

Shoutout to Jacqui at The Woodress, who makes beautiful custom carts that flat-pack. You can have the high-end aesthetic without requiring a U-Haul.

Transport Boxes: The Hidden Hero

If your cart breaks down (which Justin recommends), you need transport boxes. Good ones transform your operation.

The construction tool box market has exploded. Milwaukee Packout, DeWalt ToughSystem, Ridgid Pro Gear. These modular systems stack, interlock, and roll on wheels.

“We are big fans of these stackable tool boxes. Every major brand has tons of options now.”

The benefits compound:

• Consistency: Same boxes, same packing configuration, every time
• Speed: Baristas don’t waste time figuring out what goes where
• Durability: Built for job sites, they handle constant loading and unloading
• Mobility: Wheels and handles mean fewer trips from vehicle to venue

The Two-Trip Rule

How many trips from vehicle to venue should setup take?

Justin’s target: two trips max.

Trip one: cart and espresso machine. Trip two: everything else on a rolling stack of tool boxes.

If you’re making three or four trips, something needs to change. Either your equipment is too spread out, your storage system is wrong, or your cart design doesn’t suit your operation.

“Think about back-to-back bookings. You’ve got 90 minutes between events. Every extra trip adds stress and eats margin.”

First Impressions Matter

When you arrive at a venue, everyone watches you unload.

Justin thinks about this constantly. A barista rolling in with a clean, organized setup signals professionalism. Someone struggling with mismatched equipment, making multiple trips, visibly stressed signals the opposite.

Your equipment is part of your brand. How you transport and set it up is part of your brand. Invest in systems that make setup look effortless.

3D Printing for Custom Solutions

Justin uses 3D printing extensively. Menu holders, cord organizers, tablet stands, custom brackets that don’t exist anywhere else.

“Half the stuff on our cart you can’t buy anywhere. We designed it and printed it.”

You don’t need a 3D printer to start. But if you find yourself duct-taping solutions or wishing something existed, consider it. Entry-level printers are under $300 and the learning curve is manageable.

When to Get a Warehouse

The garage-to-warehouse transition typically makes sense around 200 events per year.

Benefits of a dedicated space:

• 24/7 ready carts: Equipment cleaned, restocked, and staged for next-day pickup
• Inventory control: Know exactly what you have and what needs replacing
• Batch maintenance: Schedule regular equipment servicing
• Team staging: Space for baristas to load vehicles efficiently

The cost of a small warehouse is usually offset by operational efficiency gains. You’ll serve more events with less chaos.

The Burnout Factor

Here’s what actually kills coffee caterers: doing everything yourself because your equipment requires it.

If only you can lift the espresso machine, you work every event. If only your van can transport the cart, you handle every delivery. If the setup takes 90 minutes instead of 30, you’re exhausted before service starts.

“The goal is to build a business, not a job. Every equipment decision should move you toward delegation, not away from it.”

Heavy machines, awkward carts, disorganized transport systems: they all create dependencies on you personally. That’s a ceiling on growth.

Light, modular, well-organized equipment lets you hire, train, and trust baristas to handle events without you.

The Bottom Line

Equipment choices feel like one-time decisions. Buy the espresso machine, build the cart, figure out transport. Done.

But these decisions compound for years. The wrong espresso machine limits hiring. The wrong cart dimensions exclude venues. The wrong transport system burns time and energy on every single event.

Justin spent months with calipers and 3D models optimizing this stuff. You don’t need to go that deep. But you do need to think about it.

Ask yourself: can a small person handle this equipment alone? Can it fit in multiple vehicle types? Can setup happen in two trips?

If yes, you’ve got room to grow. If no, your equipment is already becoming your ceiling.