Over the past eight years, my team has mastered the art of coffee catering—following a system I built, perhaps unintentionally. Today, we operate events for the biggest brands in the world, but it started with far humbler beginnings—as proven in our origin story blog and by this painfully embarrassing photoshoot I took before launching. Yes, that’s me in flip-flops and shorts, pretending to be ready for business.
If you’re feeling even half as unprepared as I was in those photos, you’re in the right place. That’s why I wrote The Art of Coffee Catering—a three-part series built to help you skip the guesswork and fast-track your growth.
In addition to nearly a decade of caffeine catering, I’ve had the privilege of consulting with over 50 coffee-cart operators nationwide—learning just as much from them as I’ve ever taught. Along the way, I’ve been blessed with mentors, peers, and friends who’ve shaped how I view business, leadership and culture like Bobby Bradley, Jordan Swim, Don Branzuela, Pete Willis, Macy Pulliam, John Martin, and my dad.
Each of them have shared a piece of their company’s DNA with me, and together, those lessons became the foundation of Nightowl Coffee. So here it is—the secret sauce, the artistry, and the mindset that turned a single espresso cart into a company celebrating daily with the world’s biggest brands, most beautiful couples, and most impactful organziations in the world.
🚨 Disclaimer: Art isn’t supposed to make everyone happy. And neither is the The Art of Coffee Catering - Part I. 😉
1. You are NOT a Coffee Company
"You're going to go out of business within a year," I told a consulting client. We'll call him John. I didn't want to be right, but I knew I would be. Sure enough, ten months later, John went back to his corporate job. and sold off his coffee cart and equipment for sixty cents on the dollar.
Here's what I tried to get John to understand. If you want to thrive in coffee catering and mobile espresso bar service, your mindset—and your network—have to shift. Coffee friends won’t scale your business; event-industry relationships will. Ditch your barista friends. Ditch your ties with the coffee industry. They're never going to help you grow. Ditch comfort. Wedding planners, venue managers, production teams, florists, DJs, and corporate event professionals are the people who will become your brand ambassadors. Furthermore, these are the hardest working, most creative people I have ever met in my life.
In 2022, through our consulting division, we surveyed 50 coffee-cart operators and asked a simple question: What industry are you in—coffee, events, or hospitality?
We expected the data to lean our way, but the results didn’t just confirm our theory—they shouted it. The operators who identified with the events industry were, on average, growing at nearly double the rate of those who aligned with the coffee industry.
The most surprising insight? Those who claimed “hospitality” as their primary industry showed some of the slowest growth. Why? Because hospitality isn’t an industry—it’s a value system. It’s the heartbeat of what we do, not the category we belong to. Operators who hide behind that label often reveal a lack of true market identity—playing it safe instead of playing to win.
2. Intellectual Curiosity Drives Coffee Catering Success
Coffee catering doesn’t reward comfort—it rewards curiosity. The most successful coffee cart operators and espresso catering founders aren’t just pouring lattes; they’re obsessed with asking what’s next? They're obsessed with innovation. They're also fixated on relational precision, client intuition, and intelligent hospitality—but we'll get to those in Part III.
This business thrives on ambition. The competitive, hungry, Enneagram-3-and-8 energy is what fuels the best in the industry. The ones who win aren’t just good baristas—they’re strategic thinkers. They constantly ask:
☕️ How do we elevate the guest experience?
🎨 How do we innovate our design, menus, and service?
⚡️ How do we turn a simple coffee setup into a brand activation?
✨ How do we simplify the booking experience?
At Nightowl Coffee, we call that intellectual curiosity—the relentless drive to understand why something works, not just how. We obsess with the psycology of cleint equally as much as the tulip on your latte or the extraction of your espresso. It’s the mindset that built our company and continues to shape every activation we execute. For a deeper dive into how curiosity defines our leadership and our culture, check out our blog Twelve Ordinary Men—where we share how Curiosity Is the Cornerstone of Leadership.
⚠️ WARNING: Consider Your Enneagram Type
I used to think personality tests were complete hogwash—but the longer I’ve led teams, the more I’ve realized one thing: you can’t change people. In a future blog, we’ll dig into something I call Personality Elasticity, but for now, here’s the truth—if you’re an Enneagram 2, 6, or 9, proceed with caution.
Some of our best baristas fall into these types, but building a catering brand from the ground up requires a different engine. Handing that responsibility of the whole factory to a Peacemaker, Helper, or Loyalist is often a recipe for burnout—or worse, paralysis. They thrive in stability, not in chaos. And this business? It’s nothing but chaos—organized, caffeinated chaos. ☕️🔥
3. Coffee Catering Is Show Business
Let’s be real—coffee catering is show business. Mobile barista stations aren’t just about beverage delivery or coffee science—they’re a performance. Every pour, every smile, every branded cup is part of the act.
At Nightowl Coffee, our team doesn’t just make espresso—we command the stage. We hire for more than skill; we hire for presence. Our people value fitness, faith, beauty, style, and entertainment because the work demands it. From high-end branded coffee activations to wedding coffee catering and corporate experiences, the coffee may be the paint brush—but the paint is how you command the room.
At Nightowl, we obsess over culture, competition, and incentive just as much as espresso extraction, drink building, and pour technique. Because while a latte should taste incredible, the style, charisma, and energy behind it should be unforgettable. The equipment should gleam, the branding should pop, and every detail should carry a signature look—the unmistakable Nightowl style that guests recognize instantly. This isn’t coffee service—it’s stage. And our baristas? They’re the show. ThatDallas-based coffee catering team creates true experiential hospitality.
☕️ See this philosophy in motion in our Fall Activation Recap—a masterclass in performance, branding, and energy that turned coffee into culture.
4. Numbers Don’t Lie — They Lead
At Nightowl Coffee, we don’t just feel growth—we measure it. The chart above tells our story: from one cart in 2017 to a national coffee-catering brand trusted by Fortune 500 clients. We love data because numbers tell the truth. They reveal progress, expose bottlenecks, and prove what’s possible when curiosity meets execution. We track everything—from event profitability and labor efficiency to gratuity averages and client retention—because every number is a chance to learn and scale smarter.
We’re fearless with pricing, too. When the data says move, we move—confidently. Knowing your numbers lets you lead with clarity, not emotion. Our team is goal-driven and competitive by design. We chase goals, break records, and reward performance. Every stat is a scoreboard; every improvement is a win for our people and our clients.
At Nightowl, data isn’t cold—it’s creative. It fuels culture, drives innovation, and empowers our baristas and event leads to deliver world-class DFW coffee catering experiences.
☕️ Knowing your numbers makes executing large-format activations like this possible—see our Visa Payment Forum Recap for a look at data-driven hospitality at scale.
In Part II of The Art of Coffee Catering, we’ll go deeper—into structure, leadership, incentives, and the operational discipline it takes to turn chaos into consistency. We’ll unpack how to train teams, create repeatable guest experiences, and scale your business without losing your edge.
Because once you master the art, it’s time to master the engine. ☕️🔥
