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Lee Johns went all the way to Australia to learn how Cafe2U International conducts business and makes coffee, said an article in BendBulletin.com.  With the information he gathered, he brought home with him the rights to set up Cafe2U franchises in the United States.  Johns envisions 1,000 Cafe2U vans across the nation in five years.  Cafe2U brews and serves coffee to customers in a van, going where many people take their breaks.

If Lee Johns has his way, in five years at least 1,000 Cafe2U vans will be delivering high-end coffee to consumers across the United States.

The nation’s first, sporting bright red paint, coffee bean graphics and the company logo, began making deliveries in Bend in September.

Johns, president of Cafe2U Inc., believes the company is the first in the country to employ a mobile coffee business model. The company’s drivers travel to customers, rather than wait for them to show up at a bricks-and-mortar café, and brew up fresh drinks from a machine in the van.

And it’s not just drip coffee the drivers peddle.

“It is a premium gourmet coffee, a darker, full-bodied, rich coffee,” Johns said, adding that it’s espresso-based. The price of a drink ranges from $2 to $4, depending on size and style.

Johns, 53, does not credit himself with coming up with the concept. He is no longtime coffee expert. For years he and his wife published real estate magazines in Bend.

Earlier this year, Johns and the company’s Portland-based CEO traveled to Australia to learn how Cafe2U International conducts business and makes coffee. They returned with plenty of information — and the rights to set up Cafe2U franchises in the United States under an independent company.

Now the small core of employees working in Bend’s NorthWest Crossing are promoting opportunities to manage or own independent franchises, which Johns’ company oversees and markets.

They have already started operations in Bend and Riverside, Calif. Seattle and Portland are next. Visiting business parks and other places where many people can take breaks is encouraged.

In the next few months, Lee said he would like to open a training facility in Bend for all new American franchise owners, to avoid sending each one to Australia to learn the Cafe2U way. It’s possible the company could also open a more traditional coffee shop in Central Oregon.

Photo by richbd