A homeless man in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland is one step closer to opening his own cheap coffee business, after he secured a rental lease with the help of donations from strangers.
More than $12,000 has been raised on a Givealittle fundraiser in just under a month for Jonathan 'Patchy' Low to launch his own company, after he went viral on TikTok for his cheap coffees in March.
Patchy had been selling cups of instant coffee from a shopping trolley for just $1.50 around Te Komititanga Square, but Auckland Council told him three weeks ago he needed the correct permits to continue mobile trading.
Now, he hopes to launch Patchy's Coffee Limited after signing a two-year lease for a business premises on Rutland St, in the city centre.
"It's nice and central. It's not the absolute best location in terms of foot traffic, but you get what you pay for," Patchy said.
He met with his real estate agent on Saturday to pick up the keys.
"It's got a kitchen that we're going to partition off," he told Newshub, which is required to apply for a food licence, and then eventually a mobile trading licence too.
"It's just perfect for what I want to do, and we'll actually be able to sell instant coffee out of there as well once we get that food licence."
'People are screaming out for affordability'
In time, Patchy hopes to have multiple trolleys loaded with instant coffee kits to head down towards lower Queen St every morning, including with EFTPOS and PayWave payment options.
And he's confident it'll be a successful startup, one day expanding to Pōneke/Wellington and Ōtautahi/Christchurch.
"People are screaming out for affordability," he told Newshub, adding that cheap instant coffees still get people caffeinated.
Digital screens will be added to the sides of the shopping trolleys as a second income stream, he said, which will show local business ads.
And he's already applied for a trademark for a company logo and name, and is in talks with investors to raise equity.
"I have quite a few serious-sounding people emailing me wanting to invest," he told Newshub.
Givealittle donations released
Patchy said Givealittle had released about $10,000 to him, which he used as a down payment to secure the rental property from Bayleys Real Estate.
The landlord has agreed to give him a month's free rent too, he told Newshub, so he won't have to pay until June 19.
More than 500 donors had donated $12,300 since the page was set up on March 25.
The fundraiser was created after two women spotted Patchy selling instant coffees around Te Komititanga, who posted his plight on TikTok.
Auckland Council rules
Under the council's 2020 Food Safety bylaw, most mobile food businesses are required to register for a food licence, and a mobile trading licence, among other requirements.
Veronica Lee-Thompson, Auckland Council's principal specialist of environmental health, told Newshub a council street trading inspector met with Patchy two weeks ago.
"They had a pre-application meeting where they discussed his business plans and the requirements associated with a mobile vendor licence," Lee-Thompson said.
She told Newshub Patchy was told to contact the Street Trading team about getting a licence.
He then met with the team, but they informed him he needed a food licence first.
Patchy said since then, he'd come up with a food plan to get a licence, which council inspectors were happy with.
He said the sugar, cookies, and other products will be individually packaged.
"So it's going to be low risk", he said.
'It's just totally changed my mindset'
Patchy told Newshub his life took a turn when he went through a divorce in 2019.
One day his car was stolen, which he was using as shelter and as a vehicle for Uber Eats deliveries.
"It had my Macbook, my clothing. I lost everything," he told Newshub.
He turned to delivering Uber Eats meals on Beam scooters, but that ended and he began begging on Queen St, before coming up with the idea to sell cheap coffees from a shopping trolley.
That's when he started getting noticed on social media.
Patchy said he feels nervous at times about launching his own startup, but he's inspired by the fact he's come a long way in the last month.
"It's pretty cool. It's just totally changed my mindset," he said.
