How Portable Sinks Support Your Coffee Stand Business

Whether you call them coffee stands, coffee carts, or coffee kiosks, they all have one thing in common. Someone mixes water with beans to create a magical elixir that some people can’t live without! One other thing coffee carts have in common is that in many states, they are considered a food establishment, which means there are numerous food safety, sanitation, and hygiene rules operators must comply with.

One of those requirements is often a hand washing sink. Even though you have a small stand, you’ve got to make room for a sink, which means you may lose valuable counter space. However, the flexibility and adaptability of a portable sink give you code-compliant options.

Why You Need a Portable Sink at Your Coffee Stand

You can buy a coffee stand or coffee kiosk that includes a built-in sink with water tanks and a hot water heater. However, these stands are often expensive and may be out of your price range — especially if you’re just starting your coffee business. Some companies offer a less expensive coffee cart or kiosk with a sink cutout, but you still have to purchase the sink, water tanks, water lines, and everything else you need to get your sink up and running. Not only does this increase the cost, but now you have to install the sink yourself or hire someone to do it for you, and you’re stuck putting the sink where the manufacturer drilled the holes.

A portable sink is a flexible alternative to buying a coffee stand with a sink or installing your own. Many of them are on wheels, allowing you to place the sink where you want or need it most, and arrive fully assembled, eliminating the need to set up and install it. As a separate unit from your coffee kiosk, a portable sink ensures you don’t lose counterspace, giving you more room to work or for customers to add cream and sugar to their drink on a stable surface. But there are so many more advantages to choosing a portable sink for your coffee cart business.

Better Than a Garbage Can

While you strive to ensure every coffee order is accurate and well-crafted, mistakes happen, not to mention, sometimes customers order the wrong drink. When the drink isn’t quite right or the customer changes their mind, you need to dispose of the drink in a safe, sanitary manner.

You can dump coffee in the garbage can, but liquids and plastic garbage bags don’t always mix. Portable sinks include a sealed waste water tank that’s unlikely to leak or spill. 

Permitting and Licensing Requirements

Every state, county, and even some cities have hand washing sink regulations for food service operators. Depending on the specifics, your coffee cart, stand, or kiosk may be considered a food service establishment, which means you need a permit or license for your business.

It ultimately doesn’t matter if you’re at a farmer’s market for one day, at a festival for two weeks, or are a permanent fixture in an office building. Food vendors are often required to have a dedicated handwashing sink with hot and cold water.

Hand Hygiene

Even if you’re not required to have a handwashing sink on your coffee cart, you may want one. If nothing else, it gives you and your staff a place to wash their hands properly before starting work or whenever they need (like after sneezing or taking a break).

While they can wash their hands in a nearby bathroom, they could recontaminate their hands while walking back to the cart, not to mention, you may lose sales while they’re away. What’s more, many food safety regulations state that staff can’t use sanitizer in place of washing their hands with soap and running water.

Can I Install a Sink in My Coffee Stand?

You can purchase the “shell” of a coffee cart, allowing you to customize it, or build a coffee cart on your own, often for far less than purchasing the shell. And since you can buy everything you need for a DIY sink in your coffee kiosk, you may be wondering if you can install the sink yourself.

The answer, of course, is: it depends, and it depends on a lot of factors.

First, you should check the regulations where you’re operating your kiosk to see if DIY sink installation in your coffee stand is allowed. You may be required to use a licensed plumber for the installation. What’s more, because hand washing sink regulations vary from state to state and even at the local level within a state, what’s acceptable in County A may not be acceptable in County B.

Second, creating a code-compliant coffee stand with a hand washing sink requires a lot of parts and supplies. Requirements vary, but you’ll likely need:

• Pipes
• A hot water heater
• Sprayer
• Inlets
• Fresh and waste water tanks
• Special fittings and adapters (for your coffee machine)

This is only a small part of the list. You’ll need plenty more, and the cost of these materials, plus your time and labor, can add up quickly.

Finally, installing the sink and plumbing yourself is risky. If you don’t know what you’re doing or don’t get it exactly right, you could destroy all of your hard work with a leak, scalding water, or waste water that contaminates everything.

Portable Sinks Bridge the Gap

A portable sink is the bridge between a DIY sink installation and buying an expensive coffee stand with the sink already installed. Ozark River Manufacturing’s portable sinks come fully assembled. Simply unpack, plug in, and you’ve got running water. What’s more, many of our sinks are mounted on wheels, making them easy to move and place wherever you need — even tight or awkward spaces. They also feature hot and cold running water, integrated soap dispensers, and sleek looks that blend in anywhere.

Check out our full selection of portable sink solutions or contact us today to learn how we can support your coffee kiosk business.