Image credit – @josh_thacker_photography
The idea.
My journey into the world of speciality coffee started entirely as a customer. After spending the last 10 years working in the hospitality scene, coffee was always part of my daily routine – whether it was fuelling the long hours with a few too many double espressos or spending the rare Sunday morning off hunting for the best flat white and almond croissant South Wales had to offer.
I always loved the idea of owning a street food truck and spent my morning train journeys dreaming of anything from a birria taco truck to loaded potato smileys but none of the ideas felt quite right.
It wasn’t until amazing husband and wife duo Adrian and Holly opened up Beat, Bridgend’s first speciality coffee shop (conveniently located right on my morning commute route), that I really started considering what life in the coffee business might look like.
I became obsessed with looking at street coffee trucks all over the world and loved the idea of being able to bring the feeling of your favourite coffee spot anywhere. My mind was made up, and I started the hunt for the perfect vehicle to turn into my dream coffee truck.
Image credit – @josh_thacker_photgraphy
The build.
After months of looking through Facebook marketplace and a couple of unsuccessful trips to London to look at some already converted trucks, a 2007 Volkswagen transporter popped up for sale less than a 10-minute walk from my house. I immediately fell in love with the van – so much so that the next day I walked around the corner and bought it, convinced this was going to be my new coffee truck.
With all my ideas, I always give my grandparents a ring to talk things through and see what they think. After a long chat with my grandad about how much I thought it was going to cost and where I was planning on getting the conversion completed, he suggested that the two of us try and build it ourselves.
Bear in mind that up to this point I had never used a power tool, changed the fuse in a plug or successfully completed any form of basic DIY, so the idea I could help put this together seemed impossible.
After a little planning and a lot of convincing, we started the van conversion and, as it turns out, it was the best decision I had made. The whole project took around six weeks, with my grandad very patiently teaching me the basics of carpentry, plumbing, electrics and even a little bit of mechanics. I absolutely loved the process of learning and doing it together. And the result was the van I had always dreamed of, plus some amazing memories to go with it.
Growing up, my grandma would always say I was living the ‘Life of Reilly’ when I would tell her what I was up to, so naming the business The Life of Reilly Coffee Co seemed only fitting.
Image credit – @josh_thacker_photography
How it’s going.
As someone relatively new to the coffee scene, I always knew that it would be risky to quit my full-time job and start an outdoor coffee business at the beginning of winter, but since setting out I have been shown nothing but support and kindness everywhere I’ve been.
Alex, a local gym owner and now good friend, came to my soft launch event and asked if I’d like to bring the van to one of his spaces for a community morning. I was so grateful for the opportunity, and we’ve been bringing the Life of Reilly Coffee Co to the gym every Friday morning.
Even though we are a small mobile coffee business, we’ve built relationships with some of the best independent Welsh producers, and we are proud to showcase their amazing products wherever we go.
Now we’re nearly a year in and we’re lucky enough to have taken our little coffee business to events all around South Wales, from local festivals and CrossFit competitions to weddings and pop-ups. We’re really proud to have also worked alongside some amazing local charities such as Big Moose, Morgans Army and The Rescue Hotel to raise money and awareness for the work they do.
Image credit – Life of Reilly
The Future.
We’re loving our new life out on the van and have some exciting events lined up for the rest of the summer. Thank you to everyone who’s been a part of our journey so far – the plan is to continue growing our events and pop-up business over the coming months with both our van and coffee cart setups. If all goes to plan, you might see us in a more permanent home in the future, but who knows?
That’s all in the Life of Reilly, and we hope to see you out on the road for a brew soon!
