Article from:
The founder of a crowd-favorite mobile coffee truck encourages students during latest Vol Court speaker session
The Founder of Café Lomez, Justin D’Agostino suggested starting with a low-risk business model to save time, money, and headaches.
Students from various majors across the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) campus gathered inside the Hodges Library for the latest speaker in the Vol Court series. If students attend two out of the three sessions, they are eligible to pitch their business idea at the final session, which is on February 25 at 5:30 p.m. The event is organized by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI).
The winner of the pitch competition will take home $1,500 in non-dilutive funding toward jumpstarting their business idea. There’s no parameter around what type of business – and the students in the room reflected that. A handful came from the Tickle College of Engineering, while others joined from the Haslam College of Business or the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music. The representation of so many colleges in one room demonstrated the success of increased efforts from the Anderson Center to raise awareness about opportunities in entrepreneurship across campus – not just for business majors.
The Executive Director of ACEI, Brenna Hale kicked off the evening event by introducing Justin D’Agostino, the career coach for the Tickle College of Engineering, and Founder of the very-popular Café Lomez.
His business is best known for its presence at the Knoxville Farmer’s Market. Week after week, year after year, D’Agostino has put the same truck in the same spot, gaining a host of loyal, repeat customers.
“I was really an entrepreneur by accident,” he told students. “It supplements my income while I do what I love, which is teaching students.”
D’Agostino spent time studying in Indonesia, and during that time he fell in love with the way the country produced, roasted, and served coffee. He explained how coffee was more of an experience on the island, versus a quick pick-me-up.
So, for the next decade after returning to the United States, D’Agostino became obsessed with trying to replicate their processes as close as possible. He felt as if it was his personal mission to bring the Indonesian coffee experience to the U.S. During the pandemic, he decided to make his side-hobby a side-hustle.
“I found a truck for $4,000 and decided to purchase it. I wanted to keep my business low risk, and keep it mobile,” D’Agostino said, with an emphasis on the mobility side of the business. “If I bought a shop and it wasn’t in the prefect area, it could fail. I wanted to be able to go where the people are.”
But, with that decision came a lot of paperwork, and unexpected costs. He said was almost $30,000 dollars after fixing up the truck, buying all the equipment (espresso machines, roasters), getting lisencing, implementing a Point of Sale system, and submitting all the permits required for operation (health permit, mobile food permit, food handlers certificate, fire certificate, and special events permit, ect.).
“There are upfront costs associated with launching a business, but for me I would say it has been worth it,” he said.
Since 2022, D’Agostino has attended many food truck parks, events, and business locations to serve his coffee; however, he’s settled in to working just four days per month from 8 a.m. to noon.
“The Knoxville Farmer’s Market has been a huge money maker for me,” he said. “Since it’s a side-business and teaching is my main employment, all the money I make from Cafe Lomez is just extra!”
Each month, the cost to run the truck is about $1,500. He makes about $5,000 per month at the farmers market, leaving him with a net profit of about $3,500. That’s pretty good for only working four days for a total of 16 hours.
“The good part is that I have complete control of my business – when I want to work and when I don’t,” he said. “But, the bad part is that I have complete control of my business, so when things go wrong, there’s only one person to fix it, and that person is me.”
His final piece of advice for students is to know their business inside and out. Be the expert!
Next time you’re cruising through the Knoxville Farmer’s Market be sure to stop by Café Lomez!
Like what you’ve read?