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NINE BARS continued from page 49 FLEXIBLE SETUP: Water Avenue's mobile cart allows the company to wheel its presence into Enso Winery each morning and away each afternoon. an ice machine, which we use for iced coffees and Enso uses for sangria and other wine cocktails. The other is a coffee brewer, which both businesses use to dispense drip coffee. Though the two pieces of equipment are only there because of our arrival, Enso has been able to integrate them into its business so that we haven't impeded on their space. All in all, our footprint in Enso is only as large as the cart, and we roll that away before the winery opens each afternoon. PRACTICAL MODEL As of this writing we're a little more than a month into the venture at Enso, and our business is growing there each day. Because our investment has been small—the cart was relatively inexpensive to assemble, and Enso charges us affordable rent—we 50 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com haven't felt a significant financial strain. More than anything, the experience has proven to me that a business does not need to be large-scale—or even conventional—to succeed. In Portland, we've seen more and more high-quality food carts launch and connect with the public. Customers seem to be taking to the idea that their food doesn't need to be presented through a traditional format in order to be high-quality. With customers primed to seek out quality in unconventional businesses, it's as good a time as ever for aspiring café owners to enter the market. As our new venture at Water Avenue proves, you don't have to break the bank to start a coffee business. By leveraging elements like shared space and a small footprint, you can launch a shop on a budget. I hope that in the coming years we see an increased number of baristas using inventive, unconventional methods to launch coffeehouses of their own.