tiny pop-up truck café by jay nelson takes to the streets of japan

pop-up shop for coffee lovers 

‘Overview coffee truck’ is a pop-up truck café that aims to enhance the coffee experience. Designed by San-Francisco-based artist Jay Nelson, the coffee shop stands out with its delicate yet functional design. Emerging from the rear of the truck, the structure offers a temporary retail space on wheels that don’t need to be anchored into a specific area. 

When closed, the neat layout is folded into the truck’s side with a small circular opening to unveil a look at the inside. When operating, the surfaces open up uncovering a tiny stand where people can order and pick up their drinks. Meanwhile, the kitchen shell contains all the necessary equipment for the business. all images by Yuta Oka

a delicate yet functional design

Nowadays, pop-up stores are a cost-efficient and flexible alternative to promote their brand and drive sales without being docked to one location. Thus, artist Jay Nelson (see more here) has undertaken the design of the mobile store for a coffee brand that wanted to introduce itself to coffee enthusiasts around Japan.

With its starting point in Kyoto this month, ‘Overview coffee truck’ will travel to Shirakaba Lake, Shizuoka, and also hold promotional tours all over Japan. With this project, the business owners bring their brand to the streets, all the while introducing a sleek design that will catch passersby’s attention. The team opted for a domestic cedar-clad structure, easy to assemble and repair if needed. For the finish of the shell, they employed timber surfaces, and by sticking a single board to the seam, the whole structure is constructed in such a way that it can be disassembled and reused for future projects.

project info:

name: Overview Coffee Truck

designer: Jay Nelson

brand: Overview Coffee

photography: Yuta Oka