Odd Dog Coffee

Odd Dog Coffee is Northeast Ohio's highest tech food truck, offering a full coffee and espresso bar from our battery powered, big green coffee bus


Q: Have you always wanted to be in the food truck industry?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that was a goal, but we considered it more of a stepping stone. However, the more time we spent in our community vs. inside of a store, the more we have gravitated toward the charm of mobile service and the benefits that it brings.

 Q: How did you get into coffee?

I’ve always tended to go overboard with my interests – so when I got interested in coffee as a consumer, naturally that led to me buying a roaster to use at home. That was the nebulous for what ultimately led to us purchasing a very small commercial roaster to experiment with selling our own blends.

 


Q: We love your coffee bus, how did you turn it into a cafe?
Thank you! We love it, too. We lucked out with the bus we purchased – there were only two seats to remove because it had wheelchair accessibility features. That allowed us to use a large side door as a ready-made order window, and because there were no seats, it was an open template. A couple of cabinets, a countertop, some sinks, electrical and plumbing and you have a pretty solid set up. It took us three weekends.



Q: Where / how do you source your coffee?

We’ve inserted ourselves into the production chain of a long established local roaster, by working with their coffee director to scale our proprietary blend using their beans and machine. The roastery deserves a lot of credit for their ethical sourcing, including direct trade with female farmers across the globe. We share their ethos in that regard, so it’s a pretty good match for us, and they treat us very well.


Q: Any words of wisdom for going out on your own?

Go slow, start small, and streamline as you go. In addition, think small in terms of your market. Local neighborhoods within a mile or two of where you operate are the lifeblood of a café, spending any time beyond those borders can produce diminishing returns for your time, effort and dollars.


Q: We of course want to know about Fritz. How did you meet? 

 Mr. Fritz is a pseudo adoption – he came from a breeder to one family, then adopted by another family, and then we ended with him. He’s a wild man and keeps the energy in our home at an 11 out of 10.

 Q: Describe Fritz in three words:

 Loose Frenchie Cannon

 Q: Favorite activity with Fritz in your spare time?

 Fritz is like that high tech suitcase that was engineered to follow it’s owner, but with Mike. He is the Velcro to Mike’s Glue. That said, they love arguing over when breakfast and dinner is, and whether or not it’s time to hit the couch in between spurts of zoomies the intensity of which is only matched by Miles Garrett.

 


Q: We of course want to know about Cody. How did you meet?

 I adopted Cody from a rescue back in 2008, which makes Cody 13 years old and has been by my side for exactly 1/3 of my life.

 Q: Describe Cody in three words:  

Old Man Groucho

 Q: Favorite activity with Cody in your spare time? 

 Despite keeping him alive for the first half of his life without mishap, Cody has trended toward favoring Mary-Elizabeth.  They love going on walks anytime of the year, and Cody’s favorite part is when he gets too tired to keep going and gets to be picked up for the rest of the walk