The Birth Of The Bagel Van

In March we decided it was time to increase our collection of vintage vans so we set of for the West Country to collect our latest….. A rather battered, rusty white Citroen H Van.

Jack and Doug started work on it, cutting a hatch, cutting out the really rusty sections and rebuilding the van with fiberglass and pots and pots of body filler!

The great question in both our minds was what were we going to serve from our ‘new’ van? It had to have a coffee machine so that we could continue serving the best coffee available at festivals, in our street food outlet, with our new range of coffee beans, but what was to go alongside the coffee?
A number of ideas were pondered over but we finally came to rest on bagels – a delicious and healthier option.
With the bodywork complete, we were joined by friends here and there for endless days sanding before Jack donned a mask and goggles and started the paint job.

Whilst Jack was painting, I was shopping for fixtures, fittings and the famous LED lights (you really cant miss us!) and Doug was busy fitting the work surfaces, sinks and electrics.

A mere nine weeks after starting work on the van, it was signed off by the council and given a 5 * rating – ready to start a busy summer.

Its debut was at Download Festival, quickly followed by a busy Glastonbury and then to Latitude. We were thrilled with the response that it was receiving and a last minute invitation to trade at Boomtown was a storming success. From there, we fed lots of hungry children and a host of CBBC presenters at Mr Bloom’s Big Day Out, a little closer to home, in Leicester. Staying close to home, we met (and fed) lots of fresher’s at the De Monteford University’s welcome weekend.

As always, we have had a fantastic team working with us and very much hope that they will be joining us again next summer. Thank you to you all.