Shaking up Your Caffeine Routine with Charlie’s Wheelys Cafe

Gainesville’s newest coffee shop is a little different than its competitors; it doesn’t have walls and it isn’t always going to be in the same location.

Charles Keator will begin operating Charlie’s Wheelys Cafe, a mobile coffee cart, in late April. He will be serving organic drinks and snacks in locations across the city while providing patrons with a look into the culture of Gainesville.

Wheelys is an international coffee brand that allows entrepreneurs to start their own organic coffee franchises. Each cafe only serves natural products and runs on either solar or human power, according to the company’s website.

Originally from Gainesville, Keator spent a few years living in California pursuing acting. This is where he first heard about Wheelys.

He was immediately drawn to the company because of its emphasis on sustainability. He then moved back to his hometown to start his own franchise.

Keator’s vision for his mobile cafe involves elements of local culture. He wants to reach out to local musicians to play while customers are waiting on orders, artists to display their work and yoga instructors to lead classes next to his cart. He sees his cart as a platform for the community to connect in a positive way.

The cart will be equipped with Wi-Fi, so students have the option to sit nearby and do their work in an outdoor setting that isn’t limited by four walls.

Keator said he plans to move the cart between midtown, downtown, campus and even outside football games in the fall.

“You’re going to be able to get everything that you would normally get in a coffee shop, but in a wide-open, fresh air space,” he said.

Wheelys has an app that allows you to track where the cart will be located each day and what menu items are available.

Charlie’s Wheelys will offer hot and cold beverages with a rotating schedule. The menu will include kombucha, nitro coffee, cold brew coffee, tea, lattes and other options with two of those drinks on draft each day.  Keator will also have vegan breakfast items, snacks and desserts.

You’re going to be able to get everything that you would normally get in a coffee shop, but in a wide-open, fresh air space.

There will be a soft opening fundraiser at Working Food Community Center’s event space, Forage Hall, on April 20, from 6 to 11 p.m. This event will introduce the Gainesville community to the new business and also be a way for Keator to receive feedback on his plans.

He is using this event as a way to fundraise and to find out how people would like to display their talents at his cart.

Tickets that include a meal at the soft opening event are available here starting at $15.

Working Food is a non-profit organization that promotes local food options and education about sustainability, according to its website. The community center provides a space for people to come together to further these efforts.

Maya Velesko, the business development director and kitchen manager at the facility, said the Working Food team was drawn to collaborating with Keator because of the uniqueness of his business plan. Working Food has programs in place to help entrepreneurs develop their ideas.

“Knowing Charles, it’s sure to be full of good food and positive vibes,” Velesko said about the soft opening.

Keator plans to use the two weeks after the soft opening as his grand opening. That time period will allow him to apply the suggestions he will receive from the community and figure out how to best run his franchise. He sees his business as an ever-changing thing.

What I’m envisioning is being able to create a community within the community and being able to have all different walks of life be able to come here and share a safe space.

His cart is assembled and almost ready for the soft opening.

Keator looks at organizing his cart as a way to practice his Tetris skills. There has to be a balance between making sure he has all the equipment of a traditional coffee shop and making sure the cart is easy enough to move around the city.

“What I’m envisioning is being able to create a community within the community and being able to have all different walks of life be able to come here and share a safe space,” he said.

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