Brady · October 5, 2026
One Coffee Cart or Two? Three Events Compared
[New draft, written from your facts. Brady: read it before it goes live. It names clients, so check each one is fine with it.]
Whether you need one cart or two comes down to two numbers: how many people, and how long. Here are three of our bookings, side by side.
| Event | Guests | Hours | Carts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crate & Barrel store opening day | About 200 | 5 | 1 |
| Gusto annual team event | About 350 | 3 | 2 this year, 1 before |
| A recruiting weekend | A full house | 3 | 1 |
Crate & Barrel: about 200 guests, five hours, one cart
Opening day of a new Denver-area store. About 200 guests across five hours works out to about 40 an hour. One cart pours 30 to 40 drinks an hour, so one cart was the call. They added a custom banner on the cart and the latte art printer.
Gusto: about 350 guests, three hours, two carts
Gusto has booked us for the same event in downtown Denver several years running. We always brought one cart, and the line got really long. This year it's two carts.
A recruiting weekend: three hours, one cart
This one was a madhouse. The line didn't stop for three hours, and one cart was not fast enough.
The numbers we plan with
- One cart pours 30 to 40 drinks an hour.
- In two hours, that covers about 75 guests.
- Past that, add hours or add a cart.
- Each cart comes with its own barista, and needs its own 6 by 6 foot spot and its own outlet.
What changes the answer
Whether everyone shows up at once. 200 people across five hours is a different event than 200 people in the first half hour. Send us your guest count and how the day runs, and we'll tell you whether one cart covers it.