Vintage Catering Van | Barista Coffee & Cake or French Crepes | Citroen H Van

I am selling Nicole, my beloved Citroen H Van. After four years of running this fun little business, it no longer really suits our family life with two young children.

Nicole is a beautiful little split-screen 1963 H van in extremely original condition, and she has been very reliable. We have been to some great events together, met some fabulous people and have even been on Coronation Street! One of the things I love about her is how authentic she is. She has virtually been untouched mechanically since she emerged from a French barn where she was in storage seemingly for 20 years. She still has the French tax disc in her windscreen from 1994. Her bodywork is in sound condition and she has always been reliable, although she does need a bit of a cosmetic tidy up here and there. She will come with a new MOT (not required by law, but just for peace of mind for the buyer).

She has been run as a coffee and cake / coffee and crepe van and is fitted with a Fracino dual fuel (gas or mains electric) coffee machine which makes absolutely great coffee. The set-up will run off grid (using propane and batteries via an inverter) where there is no electric, or from a 13A supply where power is available. There is therefore no noisy generator to deal with.

I am keen to see her go to a good home and for her new owners to succeed in making this a successful business as I know it will be for the right buyer. I think it would really suit a couple who are thinking of retiring and who want to get out and about and enjoy events and meet people. I am happy to provide the buyer with a full handover and initial support if required, plus a full handover of the Wix-based website and sign over social media accounts.

The business name ‘Tarte au Citroen’ and recently designed new logo come with the van along and I get several enquiries a week for pre-paid wedding and corporate events which can be charged anywhere between £500 and £1200 per day. More recently we have concentrated on doing pre-paid events rather than those where we sell direct to the public, and the work I have done on search engine optimisation has started to pay off over the last 12 months with more and more enquiries coming in through the website.

We have had a 5* hygiene rating from Lichfied District Council so this should be easily achievable elsewhere.

As a business it is complete and in working order ready to go:

Francino dual fuel, lever operated, two group head machine (£3-3500); single dose precision coffee grinder £800; knock box, tamper, steaming jugs; handwash station, twin burner gas powered crepe machine, inverter, lights,2.25 litre water containers (enough for a full day running),6,000g gas bottle plus spare, plug in cool box; all the packaging – cups, plates, cutlery, lids, to get started (>£1000 worth); serving hatch, drawers and racks for organisation; A-board, decorative items, cake stands and bunting; matching bistro-style tables (3) and chairs (6)

The vehicle is fitted with a tracking device.