When Leslie Lehr’s son, Dereck, first saw the dented horse trailer full of hay that would later become Stirup Espresso, one question came to mind: You’re going to serve coffee out of that?
Lehr began planning her mobile coffee business after leaving a corporate job in 2019. A flight attendant at one time, she had traveled to such places as Costa Rica and Italy, where she fell in love with coffee. “I just love coffee,” she says. “You don’t go into the coffee business unless you love coffee.”
She knew that she didn't want a brick-and-mortar, which would require being there every day. While researching possibilities online, she saw videos of people who had renovated horse trailers into food trucks—an idea that later inspired the name of her business. She began searching for a horse trailer and found one on the East Coast. It arrived in early 2020, shortly before the pandemic.
Although some might have considered the timing unfortunate, Lehr says it ended up working out. “It gave me more time, and I didn’t feel like I was under pressure to get out because we had a lot of money invested in it,” she says. “It took a little bit longer, but it’s OK.”
Lehr began renovating the trailer and prepping for the day that she could put her coffee-making skills to the test. Lehr’s husband, Rod Mangin, came up with the name, which blends the worlds of coffee and horses.
When COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and farmers' markets reopened, it was time to start selling. The business officially launched April 10, 2021.
Offerings include espresso, lattes, cortados, cappuccinos, and Americanos. Among the brewed coffee drinks: iced coffee, cold brew, and "batch brew," pour-over coffee made in larger quantities that's kept warm for quick service.
COURTESY OF STIRUP ESPRESSO
A typical Saturday for Lehr starts at 4 a.m., when pour-overs begin. Once everything is prepared, Lehr and her son load everything into the trailer and set out for the Lake Saint Louis Farmers' Market. The rig can also be rented for private events.
At first, another local coffee business began roasting beans for Lehr. Today, she is starting to roast her own beans from Colombia and the staple Brazilian beans for espresso. Her son works the window, while Lehr prepares the orders. “We work four hours straight between the two of us,” Lehr says. “It just doesn’t stop out there, which is great.”
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