Community Highlights: Meet Alta Keller of Coffee Cart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alta Keller.

Hi Alta, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Jesse, and I started our mobile coffee cart business in Minneapolis, MN, about 8 years ago. At the time, we were enamored with the coffee scene in Minneapolis. It is a great city for coffee with tons of great shops and roasters. We were dreaming about the possibility of opening our shop but stumbled upon the idea of doing something mobile to both get our feet wet in the coffee industry and also try to fill a niche space that wasn’t being represented in our area. We casually reached out to a few roasters in the area about serving their coffee and reached out to just a couple of people we knew who were in charge of extensive event planning in our circle of friends. We were completely blown away by the kindness and willingness of others to partner with us and help us get the business off the ground. Coffee Cart MPLS quickly snowballed from just a “fun, occasional side gig” to a full-time job for Jesse and me.

Fast forward a few years, we decided to move to Nashville in 2018 to pursue our biggest career goal of Music. We, at the time, hadn’t anticipated growing another Coffee Cart business, but all the pieces fell into place for us to once again jump into the coffee scene. This time, we are very much committed to allowing Coffee Cart to grow while keeping up our music endeavors. Coffee and Music go hand-in-hand so beautifully. Nashville has been a fun landscape to learn as far as the coffee culture goes, and we are still growing and learning! We have a small team of baristas who run the majority of our events. Jesse and I jump in here and there as our schedule allows it. It’s  been extremely fun having the chance to grow the same business in a new way in a new city from the ground up.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Every business has its growing pains. But I think part of the beauty and adventure of owning a business is that you figure things out as you go. We’ve quickly realized that nobody starting a small business knows all the ins and outs of what they are jumping into. You make the changes and grow and learn how to cross bridges as you come to them. We’ve had our fair share of “that didn’t work the best, let’s change how we do this next time” moments. I know those will keep coming too, but overall, it has been a pretty smooth road. We feel so blessed to have jumped into this industry when we did and have the creative foresight to envision something that wasn’t in place yet.

2020-2021 was a curve ball for a primarily event-based in-person business like ours. It could’ve been the end of our business altogether. But, surprisingly, the comeback has been the greatest of all. As people come back into their offices, plan events again, and get together with friends, there is a high demand for COFFEE! And we are so grateful to be a part of these special moments again.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Coffee Cart Nashville?
We specialize in bringing the best of Nashville coffee and coffee culture to events/offices/people anywhere and everywhere in the Nashville area. We specialize in a complete mobile espresso bar located in your office, school, home, etc. We also have an outdoor Coffee Trailer that is a hit in the warm Nashville months. Our greatest joy is bringing a high-end, friendly, beautiful coffee atmosphere to places that don’t get to have that experience regularly (i.e., office breakrooms, rural outdoor weddings, teacher’s lounges, etc.) We partner with local roasters such as Good Citizen and Humphreys Street Coffee Roasters to showcase the best coffee in Nashville all over the city and beyond. Crafting and handing off a latte to someone who wasn’t expecting to be able to enjoy an excellent coffee that day is the best feeling. We love to make people’s day and meet new friends!

What are your plans for the future?
We will keep expanding as the demand calls for it. We currently operate two carts as well as our trailer. We did launch our very own CHAI company called Side By Side Chai! We have been crafting and serving our recipe for chai tea lattes for the last 7 years and have finally packaged it for retail and wholesale so that people can enjoy the deliciousness in their own homes or shop! Visit Sidebysidechai.com for ordering and follow along on Instagram: @sidebysidechai. We always have a new goal or idea on the horizon, so I’m sure there will be a more exciting expansion in the future!

Contact Info:

• Website: coffeecartnashville.com
• Instagram: coffeecartnashville
• Facebook: coffeecartnashville

Image Credits
Image credits: The Dwyers, Nicola Harger