Today marks the first day open for the cafe located at 231 N. 13th St. in the 13th Street District, the former home of West End Perk. As the doors open at 6 a.m., they will close mid-afternoon.

Owners Matt Wilder and Anthony “Tony” B. weren’t prepared for how quickly Most Wanted Coffee would take off – or on day one. Wilder said he passed the food inspection Thursday and opened the business Friday without any experience or testing of the equipment.

“We just went out there, blowing fuses, throwing circuit breakers,” he said with a laugh. “We had too much power for our generator. We had a hell of a day and it was pouring rain, but we still killed it.

Opening the business in their hometown helped attract customers to the trailer, but what sealed the deal was the plethora of drinks, such as Americanos, lattes, espressos, filter coffees and flavors offered. Tony said they have more flavors than coffee chains like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Scooter’s.

Anthony “Tony” B. selects a syrup from the range available in Most Wanted Coffee. The owners set themselves apart from chain coffee shops by offering every flavor and coffee drink a customer could want.

“We have every flavor you can imagine,” Wilder said. “It’s kind of our niche. Any flavor of coffee you come for, we’ll have it.

Tony said they try to distinguish themselves from the “big dogs” not only in their flavor combinations, but also in the coffee beans used.

“This is where the magic lies, the bean itself,” Wilder said. “We partnered with a company called Creation Coffee. It’s great. They have the best beans.

Tony said he spent weeks searching for the perfect bean for the most sought-after coffee. Since opening, they have been approached by other roasters with free beans, but none of them have passed the test.

“It would be difficult to get us to abandon our current position, and so far no one has succeeded in meeting the challenge,” he said. “People don’t have stomach aches. Many customers have told us they don’t have stomach problems and love the bean. It’s not too strong. They don’t feel nervous.

Additionally, Creation Coffee beans don’t seem to “flush the system” of customers. Creation Coffee is based in Michigan, but the beans come from Costa Rica and Guatemala. Wilder said the coffee beans are always “super fresh.”

“We don’t keep beans in our store for more than five days,” he said. “That’s why we don’t have decaf.” We can’t sell it like we do regular coffee. We sell approximately one decaf for every 3,000 caffeinated drinks. Quality is important to us.

Most Wanted Coffee won’t just offer the standard flavors and drinks. They will add their own touches to distinguish their products from those of their competitors. As the holidays approach, winter flavors are in full swing. Unlike the beloved or reviled pumpkin spice found in many coffee shops, customers will find pumpkin pie at Most Wanted.

“Everyone makes pumpkin spice. We make pumpkin pie,” Tony said.

Wilder said there’s just enough of a difference in the flavors of the drinks for customers to notice.

“It’s a subtle difference, but enough to know something else is going on,” he said.

Wilder and Tony place great emphasis on developing their drinks, testing different combinations to determine what their customers would enjoy. On Monday, they revealed the Banana Hammock, which Wilder says will be one of their most popular requests.

“Every time a new syrup is created, we buy it in bulk and then we sit here and experiment,” Tony said. “Between the two of us, it took 30 minutes of tasting 15 different combinations (for the Banana Hammock) to get the most perfect quality. »

On the shelf near the beverage dispensers, behind the Most Wanted Coffee sneeze glass, is an assortment of coffee syrups.

“We put that creativity into every bottle of syrup,” Tony said. “This is what sets us apart from others. We’re going to find a combination, a flavor, and we’re going to keep that flavor as long as possible.

The coffee trailer will still be in business, but it won’t have the multitude of flavors of the brick and mortar. In fact, the Most Wanted Coffee caravan will be in Waterloo on November 26 and 27 for a holiday event. Wilder also hopes to open other locations in the future. But first, they want the 13th Street District spot up and running.

Customers will continue to see Most Wanted’s presence on social media. Tony is the manager of the Facebook page, and the owners believe that’s another reason the business has grown so quickly. They tend to push the boundaries with their daily jokes and trailer location announcements.

“We do it the way we want to do it, not the way everyone thinks it should be done,” Wilder said. “People like it.”

“I think it’s a breath of fresh air,” Tony said. “I think everyone wants to be themselves, but they’re afraid. We receive daily comments about our energy on Facebook. The conversation we have with people is half the battle.

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Name: Most Wanted Coffee

Address: 231 N. 13th Street

Phone: 641-751-6138

Hours: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Saturday

Website: Facebook

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or [email protected].