On April 5th, I came home from an early morning essentials trip to Wegmans.
“Need coffee.” As brains do.
When the coffee cart is not doing events, it’s stationed in the garage where it’s kept neatly folded down and sweetly patient. It had been some time since the cart got to stretch its wings and roll its wheels. Immediately I started moving the furniture around in our receiving room. (We don’t actually call it a receiving room because that’s funny, right? But I guess technically, that’s what it is.)
My mother asked, “What are you doing now?!” She always knows I’m up to something. Most of the time not very excited about it.
“I’m bringing in the coffee cart.”
“What?!” She stood there watching my madness manifest. Then she laughed. Then she grabbed the other end of the couch.
Within five minutes, I mean really it had to be the most rapid five minutes ever— her and I were on our hands and knees mopping the floor by hand, wiping the window sills, and rearranging all the house plants. I rolled the coffee cart in and next thing you know everything was getting oiled up to operate.
The thing came together and we laughed again, admired, and laughed some more. I put together the felt letterboard, which is normally the menu at pop up events, and assembled some snarky little comments that a little sister might. “OPEN DAILY at barista’s will. BYO-CUP.” I opened the window and hollered “Get your coffee!” to nobody. That evening, my parents sat on the couch in front of the coffee cart sipping decaf cappuccinos and joked “Let’s go out to the street and yell, ‘Coffee! Coffee!’”
Well, the very next morning, I propped the sandwich board outside the front step, suspended the window, and essentially said to the world via Instagram, “I mean, for real… coffee!” I snapped on a mask and got the box of Kirkland latex gloves out.
Fast forward to today, 2nd Rule has just completed its third full week of serving 6-foot coffee. The window is open from 9 am - 4 pm daily. You just pull into the driveway, order a coffee at the window, and I make you one to take away. I’ve easily met some of the coolest folks in Jersey who would find a coffee window on Instagram through geo-tag locations and then make the drive to boldly ring a doorbell and receive a fresh cup.
If you’re just now coming across the coffee window, it’ll still brewing and still free of charge. A big part of 2nd Rule’s heart is to serve exceptional coffee, and then make it exciting and accessible. I’ve always said specialty coffee is not for special people; it’s for everyone. This window is a time and place where those who have never tasted or even heard of specialty coffee can discover it. Maybe the window can be the spot for someone that has lost a job, who used to frequent their favorite specialty cafe as a regular but now has to watch their spending. Maybe here, a familiar drink can be the one simple pleasure to still enjoy without another thought. Who knows, and another guy who drinks from the 2nd Rule cart can say by the end of quarantine that they actually detect notes of chocolate and sugar-browning in the espresso.
Whatever it is, the coffee cart is here for it. Come by. I’d love to serve you “on the house”. You can find the route here and check out the Instagram Highlight “6-ft coffee” for photos of the dang thing in action.
