News

A Mobile Cafe Emerges From Pandemic

By: Nick Viland
Posted on: Thursday, September 23, 2021

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The chill morning air hits your lungs as the sun starts to rise in the distance. For most this could be a start to a relaxing Sunday, but not for Athens resident Daniel Palmer.

He’s in the process of loading up his car full of coffee pots and muffins for a journey around the city to deliver these items to his customers.

There’s no time to sleep in.

“I wake up around 7 a.m., brew the coffee then I’m out the door around 8,” he said.

The idea was born over the pandemic when Palmer realized no coffee shops were doing this. 

“I missed Donkey Coffee so I tweeted them like, ‘Hey! You should do a delivery service where you can subscribe to a muffin and a coffee,’” he said.

After months of waiting he took matters into his own hands and created Cafe Doorstep.

The concept is fairly simple.

If you are subscribing to the week’s delivery, you complete a $5 payment request on Venmo or CashApp on Friday and then on Sunday morning a muffin and a hot coffee will be at your door.

One unique aspect of the business is you don’t get to choose.

Instead, Palmer finds a coffee blend to make and finds a muffin that will pair well with the coffee for that week.

He bakes the muffins himself and rarely makes the same thing twice.

Right now, Cafe Doorstep has 13 customers and the profit margins are small.

For Palmer, his love for coffee keeps the business going, and hopes this can be a step toward something bigger.

“It’s never been my dream to be a baker or open a bakery,” he said. “I have had dreams to open a cafe, so this is a step in that direction.” 

You can find more information on the business at https://www.cafedoorstep.com/.