Hey Joe! Espresso To Go

There have been a few happenings within the Fort Collins food scene that caused people to talk; one of them was the temporary closing of the Human Bean drive-through coffee houses. Those who were most upset over the loss were parents, mostly moms, that depend on drive-through for their coffee fix. Getting the kids out of car seats to drag them into a coffee house is sometimes more trouble than it's worth, especially in the winter. And a mom without coffee is like a bear waking up in the middle of hibernation, grumpy and sleepy. Not a pretty sight. Or maybe that's just me.

Many people were disappointed because they thought the nearest drive-through coffee house was in Loveland. Most people in Fort Collins are not going to go that far out of their way for an easy to grab Cup O' Joe. Upon hearing about the lack of drive-through options for coffee, some people that I talked to brought up questions about the coffee trolley on South College. Nobody knew much about it and I was all for checking them out to investigate.

Hey Joe! Espresso To Go has been on the south end of College, just north of Trilby for about two years, but under the ownership of Jim and Charlotte Randall since last August. Sitting on the edge of a parking lot shared with a landscaping company and an antique shop, they are a very nice couple who run the little shop together, serving up some smooth lattes with small-town friendly chit chat and smiles. I've driven by this place many times on our way to playgroups with the boys, but I've never been. This seems to happen often as Jim told me during my last visit that the location isn't that wonderful and they are thinking about going mobile next month, depending on how it goes with obtaining permits from the city.


This sparked my interest since I didn't realize that the trolley was in fact mobile. Really, it's not a trolley, but a food truck/mobile kitchen and they often deliver to the hair school near by. Jim had mentioned wanting to stop at different places around town, go to events and fairs and even offered to deliver coffee to our next playgroup. Coffee delivery? This is so much better than drive-through! Could this be something that Fort Collins will see in the near future? I hope so!


Their menu is small and simple. Aside from coffee drinks, they offer smoothies, soda, burritos, a sandwich, popcorn, hot dogs and chips. It's a menu that makes me think of carnivals and fairs. Having had their coffee during a previous visit, this time I opted to go with my usual 20 ounce skinny sugar-free hazelnut latte ($3.50) and a breakfast burrito with sausage ($3.10).


The coffee is really pretty good. It has an unexpected velvety smoothness considering that it's coming from a mobile trolley. They actually have better coffee than some brick and mortar coffee houses in town. The price can't be beat, either.

The breakfast burrito was pretty basic. There was quite a bit of cheese and the sausage had a lot of spice to it, so much that it was as spicy as chorizo. While this burrito was fairly pedestrian, I do think it was better than the breakfast burritos at La Luz (blasphemy!)

Hey Joe! Espresso To Go has some great potential if they go mobile. This will provide Fort Collins with a service unlike any other that is available now. After talking to others in the two playgroups we go to, we're going to give the delivery a shot this week. It will be interesting to see the truck roll up in the neighborhood ready with hot, fresh coffee. The kids will get a kick out of it, but I have a feeling the moms will like it better.


Hey Joe! Espresso To Go
6124 South College Avenue
(605) 391-3693
No website available

Kid-Friendly? Sure. The kids don't have to do anything other than sit in the car while you order and they have some menu items that any kid will love.

Parking: It's a drive-through in a parking lot.

Healthy Options? Not so much (other than the coffee). The smoothie is going to have too much sugar, and the burritos have a good amount of cheese that's going to increase the caloric total a bit. I think a muffin is as healthy as it gets.

Budget-Friendly? I think this may be the most budget friendly coffee besides gas station coffee, and this is a million times better than that.

Recent Health Inspection: Unknown