Mocha Monks is a unique coffee concept that is unlike any other. Its coffee is considered to be the finest in the world. The coffee is imported from Yemen where the coffee culture has been the same for centuries. The oldest methods and tools for harvesting its fine green coffee are still being used to this day. The coffee trees are grown organically in their natural environment and the cherries are picked by hand.
The Origin of the ‘Mocha Monks’ name
The name Mocha Monks was inspired by the Sufi monks who lived in the monastery in the Yemeni city of Moka. These monks, according to legend, were the ones who first started roasting and serving coffee as a beverage, a tradition that spread from the Arabian peninsula to Turkey and then throughout the Ottoman Empire to Europe and beyond.
It is to these mystics that the world owes a debt of gratitude, one that is expressed daily with every sip of coffee, and it is in their honour that we created Mocha Monks as our trademark. However, Mocha Monks is not just the name under which the coffees, teas, herbs and spices that are sourced, prepared and packaged by Socotra Bio Inc. are sold – it is also the name of the one-of-a-kind restaurant and café operated at its headquarters in Greely (in the outskirts of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). The restaurant and cafe feature an eclectic and diverse menu, including dishes and finger foods that bring a fusion of the flavours of the Arabian and Mediterranean worlds married with the exotic and tantalizing tastes of North and East Africa, Central America and the Caribbean.
Rather than just have the Greely restaurant and café be a Mecca for lovers of our foods, parent company Socotra Bio Inc. decided to make its footprint as wide and accessible as possible, and to this end, it created Mocha Monks Express.
A One-Of-A-Kind Franchise Opportunity
When planning the restaurant in Greely, the question of how to best satisfy customers who wanted a quick grab-and-go take-out service was a paramount consideration. Rather than have a simple drive-through restaurant like other franchises (such as Tim Hortons, Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc.), and in keeping with the uniqueness of the menu items offered by Mocha Monks, several design concepts were developed and discarded. What was desired was an express drive-through, and it was in that description that the answer presented itself: EXPRESS. Nothing typifies “Express” like a train, and with that realization, a train was born!
The very first train design was developed with the restaurant in Greely in mind and was built to suit. Now, trains are available as franchises with strategic geographical locations available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
A Train Is Born
The logistical difficulties that surrounded the idea of a fully self-supporting food preparation and delivery vehicle that could operate in both summer and winter were often daunting and required many many hours of design and re-design to overcome. Since the final food train would need to be able to be located in places without external electricity, natural gas supply, running water or a sewer and wastewater hookup, all of these needed to be built into the final design. The different kinds of food preparation required multiple workstation layouts, some for hot foods, and some for cold and/or frozen treats. There needed to be adequate storage areas with adequate chiller and freezer capacity, the ventilation systems needed to be exceptional, and there had to be a system to air-condition the cabins in summer and heat them in the depths of winter.
The final design, above all else, had to be so attractive that people would WANT to come to patronize it because it would be more than just a food truck for takeout: it would be an experience, somewhere to take the entire family for food and entertainment. And so, with all of this in mind, the Mocha Monks Express – which started out with the idea of using a train as its draw – ultimately became just that and now a train is born.
Learn More About Franchising
Interested in owning a one-of-a-kind coffee franchise concept? Contact us today to learn more about the opportunity including but not limited to the disclosure documents, menu items, financials and meeting the executive team.
Contact us here and include “Mocha Monks” in the message:
