A tiny Japanese pickup truck is getting a very St. Pete job: serving specialty coffee around the city. Evangeline’s Cafe is being built inside a converted kei truck, with espresso, matcha, chai and homemade lemonade set to roll into local markets, concerts and art shows later this summer.
Owner Evangeline Fox, 25, moved from Maryland to St. Pete in 2019 to attend Eckerd College and later worked at several local coffee shops. According to St. Pete Rising, that experience helped convince Fox to create a more personal alternative to corporate-style cafes.
A Coffee Shop With Three Front-Row Seats
The truck’s buildout will include countertops, storage, water tanks, a colorful awning and a VV Flat Izzo espresso machine. Three stools will face the barista, while Fox is considering adding tables and chairs beside the truck; she told St. Pete Rising that the setup is meant to help customers connect while their drinks are made.
The menu is still taking shape, including the decision over which local roaster will supply the beans. Planned offerings include espresso drinks, matcha, chai, homemade lemonade and specialty lattes made with house syrups, with some drinks named after Fox’s friends and family.
Fox also hopes to partner with a St. Pete baker for pastries and other treats, while offering catering alongside regular pop-ups. The concept would join a growing local market for coffee businesses that can move between neighborhoods and events: Bean Wandering’s official site says its original coffee truck still serves pop-ups around Tampa Bay even after the company opened two permanent St. Pete locations.
That mobile-to-brick-and-mortar path is also playing out with LX Coffee, which is preparing its first storefront after building a following through mobile coffee catering, according to What Now Tampa. Evangeline’s Cafe is taking the opposite route for now: starting with a compact coffee bar that can chase the crowd instead of waiting for the crowd to come through the door.
