Drew Crockett, a 2005 College graduate, will be opening a storefront extension of his popular coffee truck HubBub on 3736 Spruce St. this Monday at 7 a.m. The Daily Pennsylvanian interviewed Crockett about his plans for the new store.
GALLERY: Sneak peek of HubBub’s new coffee shop
Daily Pennsylvanian: What is the transition from food truck to brick and mortar like?
Drew Crockett: For us, we actually opened our first brick and mortar store in January in Center City at 1717 Arch St., so that was a pretty big transition for us but was also very exciting. We get to have the opportunity to take what we do in a mobile setting — which has always been something different and more of an interactive experience — and try to recreate that vibe in a storefront. That’s what we’re trying to carry over to the new store at Penn. The biggest thing is that in a truck, everything is very self-contained. One person is working, and whoever that person is can pretty much manage everything. When you move into the brick and mortar setting, while it brings lots of opportunities, with those opportunities come more challenges.
DP: Will the store offer anything different from the truck?
DC: We’ll have a similar menu to our store in Center City — an expanded baked goods section, a full bagel menu, stuff like that — which is very exciting. And then we’ll have yogurts and parfaits, cookies and the like. We work with as many local businesses who are friends of ours as possible, like the guys at Sugar Philly, who do great macarons. We get awesome biscotti from a great lady in South Philly, Gilda’s Biscotti. All those types of relationships are what we try to expand upon.
DP: Is your mindset in opening this location different at all from opening the HubBub location downtown?
DC: So there are a lot of basic, fundamental things about our business that are going to be consistent throughout, like our product and the overall experience we’re going for. Yeah, there is a different core customer base I guess, but we view all of our customers as people who are enthusiastic about what HubBub is doing. The set up of the store is going to be a little different because we’re on a college campus as opposed to being in a financial district, but overall the new store reflects what HubBub is all about — great coffee and an experience that’s different from what you’re going to find anywhere else.
DP: And what’s so different about the HubBub experience?
DC: First and foremost it’s about great products. But I’ve always viewed us as a company about people, trying to create an experience that allows people who are interested in a lot of the same things — whether that be where the product they buy comes from, or having a space to meet people that’s different from other environments that currently exist.
DP: So, what’s going to happen to the truck?
DC: On some level, we’re always going to have the truck. In terms of what we’re going do with the location on 38th Street, we’re exploring a bunch of opportunities right now. The truck, as far as HubBub Coffee is concerned, is not going anywhere. It might change location on a day-to-day basis, but it will always be around.
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