The Wandering Bean
By: Mandy Catoe
Tags: Coffee, The Wandering Bean, Women Entrepreneurs, Vintage Campers, Food Trucks

By Mandy Catoe

Some people chase their dreams and some travel with their deepest wishes in tow. Brooke Mullens does both.

Most mornings before sunrise, she hitches a red and white coffee trailer to her Jeep Grand Cherokee and heads to various locations in the county.

Mullens, a self-described coffee addict says she has been drinking the caffeinated beverage since she was six years old. The Buford High graduate is now 20 with her own business, The Wandering Bean.

She said her dream to one day own a coffee shop began when she was a freshman in high school and her boyfriend, now husband, Andrew Cox, took her to Crossroads Coffee House in Waxhaw.

“It was the vibe when I walked in,” Mullens said. “It was rustic and cozy. Coffee mugs were hanging on hooks and the place was warm and old-timey inside.”

Last August, she was a bit exhausted from college and her CVS pharmacy tech job she had worked for three years. She is on the waiting list for the dental hygienist program at York Tech. But that is losing its appeal to the adventure-loving, free-spirited entrepreneur.

“I was burned out, tired of working at the pharmacy so I started looking at campers,” Mullens said. “As a kid, I always wanted to restore an old Airstream Shasta. Then I was like, oh my gosh, just do a coffee trailer!”

For two weeks she scrolled through Facebook marketplace. She found one — a 1972 Starcraft Camper in Villa Rica GA, a little town just on the other side of Atlanta. The seller wanted $1,000. Mullens offered $800 and got it. She and her boyfriend drove 300 miles to get the 48 year-old camper.

Before heading out she made sure her dad, Dallas Mullens, was on board with her.

“Well, this is your dream,” he told her. “Go get it.”

So Mullens and her boyfriend headed south.

Cox described the four-hour plus journey.

“It was scary, I wasn’t sure if we were going to get the camper home,” he said. “My old dodge truck was on its last leg anyway. We went straight through downtown Atlanta with 8 lanes of traffic. It was scary. My fists were clinched. I thought it might fall apart in traffic.”

They made it back home and the work began.

Every weekend for a year, Mullens, Cox and her dad gutted, restored and turned the camper into a mobile coffee shop. Dallas, a welder, did the framework. Cox, did the plumbing.

“My dad and Andrew literally rebuilt this trailer from the studs up, to make it exactly how I wanted it. I couldn’t do it without them, they’re my biggest supporters,” Mullens said. “I just want them to know how much they’re appreciated.”

They laugh and said they have been granted free coffee for life.

The $800 camper was the least expensive investment. Espresso machine, bean grinder, refrigerator, and generator all added up. Mullens had to get a loan.

Her mom, Pam Mullens, went with her.

“I told her they might tell you no because you are young and you don’t have a lot of credit,” Pam said. “But she pitched her idea and within an hour they had her the money for all her equipment.”

This isn’t Mullens’ first business venture.

Her mom said when Brooke was 14, she and her friend, Hannah Stalls, wanted to make some money but weren’t old enough to get a job.

They got a silhouette cutter and started making tshirts, keychains, and vinyl decals. They called the business Simply Faithful. It was so successful they had to get a small utility building to house everything. The girls headed off to college and Pam took over the business.

Mullens’ faith and family are important to her.

“Without God, none of this would be happening,” Mullens said. “God has blessed me and this business tremendously and for that I try to bless other people through my business.”

She recently set up at The Children’s Home during their Clay Shoot fundraiser.

At the end of the event, she donated all the money back to the Home.

“It wasn’t a lot, but it was all I made,” she said.

Annette Deese, director of The Children’s Home said they were grateful for Mullens’ generosity.

“Brooke is very organized, professional and very meticulous about her business. The coffee is delicious. She will no doubt be successful in this endeavor.”

The Wandering Bean sometimes sets up at the Studio Fixx hair salon between the Japan Restaurant and Goodwill.

Owner Missy Cairnes described the camper as “a home cozy fireside.”

She said “The service is fabulous and the coffee is original. Brooke has worked to make her coffee authentic.’

The names of the drinks served from The Wandering Bean all suggest travel with names of places such as Wild and Wonderful (cinnamon, brown sugar, whipped cream and bacon); Rocky Mountain (caramel, peanut butter, chocolate); Glacier Bay (mint and dark chocolate, whipped cream, and mints on top). Seasonal drinks with Christmas flavors include Polar Express, Santa’s Cookies and Under the Mistletoe.

She also makes standard lattes and cappuccinos, plain or with flavoring. And she has drip coffee, aptly named “Old Faithful.”

The Wandering Bean’s whereabouts are posted on Facebook and Instagram. Every Tuesday it’s behind the Preppy Pineapple on Main Street from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Other places include area hair salons, MUSC, local schools, festivals and craft fairs. She is available for special events and weddings.

When asked why she thinks people come for that hot cup of coffee, she thought for a minute before answering and looked at the growing line of people about to order.

Then she said, “It’s comfort.”