Mobile café a passion for former competitive cyclist
Colin Fowlow hopes Gooseneck Coffee Cart aids third-wave café community
Colin Fowlow made a bit of a name for himself in the world of competitive cycling, but these days, his wheels are turning at a much different pace.
Fowlow, who raced bikes alongside professional riders in the Pacific Northwest after moving to British Columbia to study at the University of Victoria in 2016, recently moved back to Corner Brook and is now peddling coffee from the mobile multi-roaster café business he has dubbed the Gooseneck Coffee Cart.
Setting up at various downtown Corner Brook locations, including the Reid Street Community Garden and the Majestic Square lawn, Fowlow wants to bring the third-wave café experience to the city’s coffee-loving community.
THIRD-WAVE COFFEE?
Third-wave coffee refers to the movement toward high-quality coffees and increased consumer awareness about where and how the coffee is sourced.
Fowlow was exposed to third-wave coffee while working at Hide and Seek Coffee in Victoria, where he trained to be a barista for five or six years and served coffee sourced from around the world.
“I think a lot of people here in Corner Brook are really interested in third-wave coffee,” Fowlow told SaltWire.
“There’s not a whole lot of cafés doing coffee in this style in Newfoundland … I’m always trying to show people there’s a good variety of selection here and you don’t always have to go to a grocery store to get a good bag of coffee.”
WHERE COFFEE COMES FROM
Fowlow takes pride in knowing the history of the beans sourced from throughout Atlantic Canada he sells at Gooseneck Coffee Cart.
That’s why he chooses to use coffee from roasters who not only take a slightly more artisanal approach but put effort into being transparent about where they source their beans.
“I think it’s really important the end consumer knows what they’re paying for, as well as that the person who planted the coffee in the first place is getting a living wage,” he said.
HOW IT WORKS
Fowlow’s setup is essentially an electric trike with a full coffee bar built on top of it.
While he does pedal it, the vehicle isn’t just human-powered –- it features a rechargeable battery in the back to help transport it. Inside the bike is a 12-volt battery, similar to a car battery, which powers the fridge and the pump for the sink.
Fowlow also uses a solar generator and battery, which is quite heavy and gets transported separately from the vehicle. He charges the solar battery at night and it gets topped up with solar energy throughout the day. This powers Fowlow’s espresso machine, grinder and kettle.
“On a sunny day, I can finish the day with lots of charge left. On a cloudy day, I can run it down to almost zero in five or six hours because this draws a lot of energy,” he said.
HEAVY ON THE HILLS
The contraption isn’t light, and Corner Brook’s hilly terrain offers a challenge.
Fowlow’s background in cycling is certainly the influence behind this enterprise. The fact he can do this using clean energy sources is important to him.
“This bike probably weighs the same as a small car, so pedalling it back up the hill to my house is certainly a challenge, but I think it’s totally worth it for serving coffee here in Corner Brook.”
GOOD FOR THE GOOSE…
The name for Gooseneck Coffee Cart doesn’t carry any symbolic or metaphorical significance, Fowlow said.
The name was suggested by friends when he was drawing logos for the business. One of the images was of a gooseneck kettle that ended up being half kettle and half animal.
“It was pretty funky-looking, so we just came up with the name based off that illustration.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Fowlow is trying to determine what the future of Gooseneck Coffee Cart will look like.
He had planned for it to just be a summer venture, though a delay in obtaining vending permits needed to operate has turned it into more of a late summer/fall undertaking.
While the coming winter doesn’t bode well for such an operation continuing outdoors, Fowlow said there may be a chance he can operate during the colder months.
“I have been exploring the possibility of going indoors in wintertime and have had a couple of offers from people to set up in their shops downtown,” he said.
“A lot of businesses want to have the cart nearby to increase foot traffic or to serve their employees. I’m super keen to do that … but I can’t say for certain where just yet.”