Neil's Coffee Stop, a van serving up hot drinks and cakes at the Basins in Wellington, has taken the town by storm. The mobile cafe has won many fans since it opened in June 2021. Through hard work and a high quality service Neil has taken the business from earning £10 a day to a successful enterprise with plans to expand.

Prior to setting up the coffee stop 18 months ago, 55-year old Neil had worked as a mechanical engineer for all of his working life. His career took him jet setting from South America to Japan. But when lockdown hit Neil spent a lot of time on furlough, and when he returned to work it was in a factory.

Neil said: "I worked as a commissioning engineer for a company based in Bridgwater and I went all over the world installing machines on their behalf. I went everywhere from South America to Japan, Korea, the USA, it was a great career but then lockdown came and put the kibosh on it.  I went from going everywhere at the drop of a that to working in Bridgwater and that wasn’t really my thing really to be in a factory. Lockdown re-assessed a lot of things for me."

Neil made the leap from installing machines to making mochas after he saw a gap in the market. After considerable research and consultation with friends, Neil's Coffee Stop was born. On his first day Neil's takings totalled £10. Flash forward to today and his personable service and quality goods have become a selling point of a trip to the Wellington Basins. Neil enjoys interacting with his customers, many of whom have become his friends. He said: "I like the interaction with the people.

Honestly and I’m not just saying this it’s been fantastic, I come from just outside Oxford originally and grew up there, and I’ve been in this area for 10 years now and the longer I’m here the more I like it. I’m happy doing what I’m doing, I like it here, I think this town is a rare breed. It has a good community spirit and the people are good people."

Neil's Coffee Stop sells hot chocolates, coffees and baked treats made locally by Colin Wittle of a Wittle Slice. Neil uses local firm Braziers for his coffee and to service his machines. Neil said: "My cakes are made by Colin Wittle of a Wittle Slice. He does my cherry Bakewell’s which are attaining legendary status if I do say so myself, and we’re trialling these sourdough cinnamon rolls.

They are very nice and seem to be going down a storm at the moment. I try to keep things local. Colin does my cakes and my bakes, my coffee comes from Braziers, my machinery is all serviced by them – I can guarantee you the coffee coming out of there is good quality. 

Neil had considered moving into a permanent outlet in the town, but has instead decided his next move will be a bigger van to travel further afield and attend events. He has nearly saved the money required and hopes it will be on the road this time next year.