thelittlecoffeevan

Some of you may recall thelittlecoffeevan's abortive attempts to set up by East Dulwich Station back in September. The good news is that after nearly 3 months of negotiations with Southern Railways, we now have a pitch outside North Dulwich station and will start serving our great coffee and delicious breakfast bites next Monday 1 December at 7 am. We're sorry we will miss those of you who use East Dulwich station, but we'll be at Dulwich College Christmas Fair this Sunday, 30th November and at Heber School Christmas Fair on Saturday 6th December so please come along and say hello! Cheers Paul & Tammy www.thelittlecoffeevan.com

Mark Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I thought that shops owned about 3 1/2 feet into > the pavement (that's what those brass studs in the > pavement are marking), if you keep in that area I > would have thought you were classed as being on > the Garden Centre's property? Although there may > of course be a piece of paper somewhere that says > something which means you're not allowed to. That's what we were led to believe, too... As we learnt today, the brass studs indicate a shop's frontage, but the shop would still need permission from Southwark Council to allow anyone else to use it for trading. Southwark Council are currently pursuing a policy of clearing the streets - removing street furniture etc - so any business deemed to be an "obstruction" has no chance of being given a licence. A coffee van, however small, and however much of a service it provided to locals, fits into this category. The other issue is that the Garden Centre doesn't actually own the land. Southern Railways lease it to them. Apart from it being a violation of their lease to sub-let it, Southern Railways are currently in dicussion with someone to put a kiosk at East Dulwich station (you heard it here first)(no, I have no idea where it'll be placed) and they wouldn't allow a direct competitor so close. Both Southwark Council and Southern Railways came back and offered us alternative pitches today, which was amazing. Neither is in East Dulwich, but we're looking into them and hope to be up and trading not too far away soon.

Unfortunately thelittlecoffeevan will not now be trading outside the Garden Centre because the person who gave us permission (verbal, obviously...) to be there did not have the authority to do so. We have had discussions with Southwark Council and Southern Railways who were both sympathetic and very helpful and we have learnt a huge amount. They have both come back with alternative pitches which we are looking into. We are still available for private hire and we hope to see you at local events in the very near future. Thanks for your words of encouragement.

Yeap, that's us. The inverter has blown - a combination of dodgy wiring, poor design and Day 1 nerves I think. We're busy trying to hunt down a new one. Not sure it'll be fixed for tomorrow. :'(

Disaster! We set up this morning as promised and were just about ready to serve when the power failed. We have a technical problem which we don't yet understand - something to do with the battery or the inverter. Our second, back-up battery didn't resolve the problem. In fact there was a spark, then nothing. We'll get onto our suppliers as soon as they open. If anyone has any bright ideas in the meantime, please let us know!

mumra Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are you the same people who do coffee from a > little van on a Saturday on Rosendale Road, West > Dulwich? Their coffee is always fantastic and of > high quality - nice people too. If you are, then I > am very happy. If not, good luck anyway! No, we're not. Hopefully you'll think that our coffee is fantastic and high quality and that we're nice people too!

Ladygooner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Great news - how much for a cappucino? ?1.60 with a single shot of coffee, ?1.80 for a double. Served in a 12 oz cup.

Tony.London Suburbs Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do you sell English Tea and Muffins,as well? Yes, we're stocking a selection of Twinings tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green, Peppermint, Camomile) and will add others if there's a demand. We have Muffinloafs, which are hand mixed muffins, baked in a rectangular case (we hope they'll be less messy to eat standing up/on the train!). Just 2 varieties to start with - chocolate and lemon.

Great to hear all your comments about how you like your coffees. It just shows what a subjective thing it is - please keep the feedback coming! As I mentioned, we'll always ask whether you prefer a single or double shot of cofffee, but please tell us when you order your drink if you like it a certain way - e.g. a dry cappuccino (more frothed milk, less steamed milk).

To Dulwich_Park_Fairy, Sorry - no room for a cooker so no bacon butties! We will however be stocking a range of "cheekies" - muffins, cookies, croissants, pains au chocolat. We'll also have bottled smoothies and water. Cheers

We'll be selling freshly roasted, ethically sourced, blended coffee from Honduras, Costa Rica and India. It's 100% Arabica beans. We've selected it because it's smooth but full bodied and works well with or without milk. We'll be grinding the beans in small batches throughout the day so the coffee's always fresh (there's a grinder on the van). Also, we'll check with each customer if they prefer a single or a double shot of coffee so we can personalise the drinks to each individual's taste.

From Monday 8th September thelittlecoffeevan will be serving great coffee and delicious bites outside East Dulwich Station, by East Dulwich Garden Centre, weekdays from 7 am. We are locals, aiming to sell quality food and drinks to locals, so please come and support us. Cheers. Paul & Tammy www.thelittlecoffeevan.com