In a country freckled with big-name coffee shops, coffee drinkers may find it refreshing to grab a cup of joe that doesn't bare an unmistakable logo sporting a universally recognized name.
The mission of Panicci's Coffee of Las Vegas, a mobile business operated by Chad Stark and Joele Williams, is to provide that cup of coffee. Besides using high quality products, and making the drinks they serve the old-fashioned way -- actually pulling the espresso by hand -- they offer their products at events where one generally wouldn't find coffee.
Panicci's coffee can often be found at festivals and outdoor events where the drinkable fare usually consists of soda and beer.
"We're just trying to get our name out there," Stark, 30, said. "Educating people about coffee. It is the second largest commodity in the world."
Stark and Williams said they would like to open a stationary store eventually, but they are enjoying the low overhead expenses and freedom that accompanies a mobile business.
Panicci's Coffee is served from a 7-feet-by-14-feet long trailer, essentially a coffee shop on wheels. As for their prices, they are comparable to those of a big-name coffee shop.
"Starbucks practically closed the town down for other coffee shops," Stark said. "All the other coffee shop owners I know struggle."
That was another reason Stark took his mobile coffee shop idea to his girlfriend, Williams, and her father, Allan Williams.
Most of the coffee Panicci's uses comes from distributors in North Carolina, bought locally. Stark said the family-owned company's goal is to start using completely organic coffee bought from farmers throughout the country, to support the independent farmers. But to do this at the present time would be too expensive of a proposition, Stark said.
"Everything else comes from distributors and vendors in town," he said.
As coffee is the main product of Panicci's, they offer both hot and cold coffees in several flavors and fashions. They also offer fresh fruit smoothies and teas.
As for food, "we're still trying things out," Stark said. They have offered various candies, cookies and muffins in the past, but with the heat, it is difficult to find things that hold an appeal, he said.
"We offered pretzels for a while, but that just didn't happen," Stark said. "It's hard to find things that hold up and go well with coffee, too."
The oddest part of the business, according to Stark, is their classification when it comes to the health department and business licenses. "We sit in limbo in a weird bureaucratic gap. It limits me quite a bit," Stark said. "We can't go park in front of city hall like some of those guys do, because you have to have permission and a commissary."
The difficulties stem from the fact that Panicci's does not have a permanent health permit, which is currently limiting their business because they cannot be open seven days a week. "We run on temporary health permits, so we're only up for business during the specific events." Panicci's first event was at the First Friday event in April, a monthly downtown event which supports the local art community.
Stark and Joele Williams said Allan Williams is the third operator in the business.
"He is absolutely a partner in this," Joele Williams said. "He runs all over to help us out at events. He runs the books. We definitely work as a team, we are all equal partners."
"This really is a good safe family business," Stark said. "It's not a huge headache, and we can secure something. It's been my little dream for a while, and it's finally here."
Stark and Joele Williams both noted they feel their toes are getting stepped on at large outdoor events. "Every show we do, Starbucks is there," Williams said. "And they're not there selling, they are there giving away samples," Starks said. "They don't sell anything, they just give it away," he said.
As the operators of Panicci's do not have a storefront coffee shop, they are trying to set up an agreement to operate out of the trailer during the winter on a daily basis, when very few outdoor events occur.
Other than that, Stark said they plan on staying involved with the community and participating in community events as well as First Fridays, which they attend every month, where 15 percent of their total gross is donated to the cause. "It is a very good niche to get involved in, very personal," he said.
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