ALEX JOHNSTONE AND DAVID ROTHSTEIN Owners, the Pedal-Powered Coffee Carts Formerly Known as Handlebar Coffee

  • Kelly O
  • ALEX JOHNSTONE AND DAVID ROTHSTEIN Owners, the Pedal-Powered Coffee Carts Formerly Known as Handlebar Coffee

Alex Johnstone and David Rothstein have biked together since high school. Alex actually uses the first bike he ever bought, a Bianchi Brava, to tow one of their new venture’s twin coffee carts. Originally known as Handlebar Coffee, Alex and David’s carts just received a cease-and-desist notice from a Southern California coffee company going by the Handlebar name (meanies!). Alex and David are still out there making coffee—we’ll call them Formerly Handlebar here—and they’ll be riding under a new name soon. Onward!

David studied environmental science at UCSC; Alex formerly worked as an arborist (tree doctor/stylist) and has a degree in urban forestry. The two of them began researching human-powered food carts a year ago. “I heard of this awesome guy in Morocco who makes potato chips off the back of this human-powered cart,” David says…

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Sarah Galvin—The Stranger’s Chow Bio columnist—will eat almost anything once, but dreams of retiring to a cottage made entirely of pizza. Her blog, The Pedestretarian, is devoted to reviews of food...