“The spark for Casey’s Coffee came really from waking up one morning and realising we did not want to work for companies any more, we wanted to work together and do something completely different. I called it my epiphany moment.”
So says Clare Casey. Wanting to add a bit more adventure into their careers, Clare and husband Matthew stepped away from their static desks and set their eyes on a more mobile career path.
And out of that dream, Casey’s Coffee was born,
“We started looking at coffee trucks and decided which way we wanted to go and what ethos we were going to create for our business,” said Clare.
They completed multiple courses to learn how to source and serve the right coffee. It is a blend of the best qualities of arabica and robusta from all over the world plus with “notes of peanuts and nutmeg”.
Meet Eric and Ethel
Next they recruited Eric. But Eric isn’t an employee – he’s a 2008 Aixam Mega Van. Originating in France he was converted in England and uses his own trailer to get him about.
“We talk about Eric as if he is a person” says Matthew, “he is to us, as he has been such a head turner and a talking point in starting our business.”
Ethel was the next to join Casey’s Coffee – a 1976 cattle trainer, who has never had cattle on her, but was used by an equestrian business before she was bought by Clare and Matthew.
“Again we converted her, keeping the vintage look on the inside. Ethel again has been admired by all of our customers as she is such a unique vehicle.”
Of course, it was a challenging time to build a new business. “Along with thousands of other traders in hospitality all of our events were cancelled, said Clare.
“We stayed at home for the first lockdown, and then put our thinking hats on. We went for a drive and had a look around the local area, as to where we could trade safely.
This was where the Kings Arms was born. We approached Emma & Ben who own the pub, and to our joy agreed to let us trade in their car park.”
New pitch in York
They serve customers at The Kings Arms in North Duffield, Selby every Wednesday. And the rest of the week they provide pitstops at various locations between Selby and York, including Allerthorpe Woods in Allerthorpe on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
They have regulars now who take a walk with a friend and grab a coffee in the safe open air environment. “My husband came up with the ingenious idea of delivering the coffee to the public keeping the two metre distance, this fast became a talking point, makes people laugh and more importantly keeps people safe,” explains Clare.
So, where’s next on their pitstop tour? A new pitch at Station Rise in York will locate Eric opposite the train station giving visitors, travellers and shoppers a direct line to refreshments before entering the city.
“We have delayed starting there, purely on a safety aspect. We wanted to wait until more people had been given the vaccine to make it a little more safe for people to come and confidently buy from us. That’s so important to us for people to feel safe.”
With the confirmed date of Monday 5 April circled in the calendar, Clare and Matthew are really excited to be expanding into the city and are passionate to introduce their coffee blend in a new environment.
Eric is planned to be there most days. “We will in fact be driving Eric into York to his little pitch, so that will be great fun,” says Matthew.
On sale alongside selling their coffee are homemade cakes ranging from gluten free flapjack to flavoured tiffins, cookie slabs, rocky roads and over 25 flavours of brownie and dessert cakes.
“We are as passionate today as we were two years ago when we started. We love serving customers our wonderful coffee and cakes, and having a chat. It’s jolly hard work, but we would not have it any other way.”
See where Eric and Ethel are journeying too next via their website and remember to tag their profile @caseyscoffeeuk on Instagram using the #tourdeeric hashtag on your arrival at Station Rise!