Coffee-loving couple rolling along with mobile bus business
Erica and Cameron Lewis had been married a mere week when they decided to “hop on the bus.”
The Winfield Township couple bought a used school bus at auction in Butler for $6,000 with plans to transform it into a mobile coffee business.
The Bus Stop Coffee Co. celebrates its second anniversary this month.
Renovations included six months of detailed planning and six months of hands-on converting the bus from yellow to white and outfitting it with all the coffee shop essentials.
“We did everything by ourselves,” Erica Lewis said. “We always wanted to buy a coffee shop, and this was during covid. Everyone was renovating their campers, and we saw a lot on TikTok and decided to make our coffee shop in a bus.”
They opened Sept. 4, 2021, and business has steadily increased in the last two years, with an average of more than 100 coffee drinks sold each shift.
Customers follow the Bus Stop Coffee Co. Facebook page for the weekly stop schedules and specialty drink promotions.
The 25-feet 2001 GMC half-bus looked like a standard yellow school bus, complete with the stop sign and blinking lights and had low mileage at auction — a plus, the couple said.
“We get a lot of people when we drive by, their mouths drop and we can see them talking about the bus,” Cameron Lewis said. “We get a lot of waves from drivers.”
Cameron has worked part-time as an EMT at Saxonburg Ambulance for more than 20 years.
Erica is a full-time bus barista.
“We’re definitely coffee lovers and a lot of people assume we’re coffee snobs, but we’re not,” Cameron Lewis said. “When we first started dating we always went to coffee shops.”
The bus operates from 6 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays-Fridays.
Routes include stops in parking lots of businesses that have permitted them to park in Butler, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties.
Cameron is working on obtaining the required permitting for Allegheny County and expects to add stops there in the coming months.
Venues have included weddings, corporate events and even a dog birthday party.
The bus is available for private events.
“It was a really good time. We served pup cups and the dogs loved it,” said Erica of the fido festivities at a booking in Buffalo Township.
Customer Diane Lynn of Jefferson Township was craving a sugar-free pumpkin and stopped Tuesday for her java fix.
“I think it’s very clever because it’s very portable,” Lynn said. “I see them around and the first time I saw the bus I thought it was unique and I’d try the product.”
Coffee drinks include cold brew, double espresso, cappuccino, mocha, dirty chai, frappe with espresso, caramel macchiato, cold foam brew and regular coffee.
Teas, hot chocolate, apple cider, smoothies, frozen hot chocolate, matcha and chai tea latte round out other drinks.
The best seller is The Bus Stop Latte ($5.25) served with caramel, white chocolate and whipped cream.
Most drinks are available sugar-free with more than 20 syrup flavors.
The bus is open year-round, barring any major snowstorm or sub-zero weather.
The interior is specially outfitted with professional brewing equipment — the low ceiling is a challenge for tall Cameron.
And there’s no air-conditioning or heat.
“That’s the biggest challenge. We have a big fan,” Erica said. “It’s been a hot summer.”
Freshly ground beans from 19 Coffee Company of the South Hills is the exclusive coffee offered at Bus Stop.
“Supporting local coffee is more about getting your daily caffeine fix,” Cameron said. “It’s about being a part of the community, supporting small businesses and enjoying the unique atmosphere that only a local coffee shop can provide.”
For Erica, ditching her corporate job in the medical profession for a barista gig was the right thing to do.
“I love the customers and I used to sit behind a desk all day and I was miserable,” Erica said. “Now we get to hear all the coffee talk. I never expected to have so many regular customers.”
The couple don’t have children and for now, the bus is how they roll.
Cameron designs all of the branding and handles bus driving duties.
The bus takes about 15 minutes to warm up thanks to a generator.
Everything is strapped and bolted to the counter inside and set up and pack up is usually under 20 minutes.
“We roll in and roll out,” Erica said.
The couple didn’t fully realize the reality of choosing an “early bird” business model but they both said the positives outweigh the rise-n-grind sunrise schedule.
“After all the business plans, the one thing we never considered was that we’d be up so early in the mornings,” Cameron said. “Ironically we’re not morning people.”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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