Emma Barr, owner of SipSide Coffee Bar
Most weekdays beginning at 7 a.m., a custom-built coffee trailer sits parked at Baucom Business Plaza in Fuquay-Varina, pulling in a steady stream of regulars before the workday even gets going. The trailer’s tagline is painted right on the outside: “Be lifted. Stay grounded.” For owner Emma Barr, that’s not just a catchy line — it’s the whole point of SipSide Coffee Bar.
Emma’s path into serving coffee started with an online associate degree in business and a job as a barista at Oak City Coffee Roasters, a partnership that continues to this day. She wasn’t looking to buy a business when the opportunity arrived, but it found her. Her boss mentioned a couple who owned a coffee trailer and needed a hand at an upcoming event. Emma worked alongside them for five hours, and by the end of the day, they’d offered to sell her the whole operation.
“It was a God thing,” Emma says with a smile. The timing moved fast: She learned about the trailer in October 2024 and owned it outright by January 1, 2025.
Find the SipSide trailer at Baucom Business Plaza in Fuquay-Varina.
SipSide’s early days were spent parked at East 54, an urban village in Chapel Hill, but Emma decided to relocate to Fuquay-Varina to be closer to her friends and church. She initially planned to set up the coffee trailer in nearby Angier, but that fell through when permitting didn’t come together, a disappointing setback at the time. The search for a new home base ultimately led her to Jim and Kelly Moore, who co-own both Baucom Business Plaza and nearby Piney Grove Storage. SipSide now operates from the plaza as its primary weekday location.
Running a mobile coffee business means solving problems on the fly — finding a reliable location, navigating regulations, and troubleshooting equipment without the safety net of a fixed storefront. “In the beginning, I couldn’t get my generator situated,” Emma says. “I went through three of them in the first month alone.” These days, she’s grateful to have reliable power access at her current locale.
An Italian Nuova Simonelli machine produces the cart’s espresso. Emma makes a point to train all her staff on espresso science for quality and consistency.
SipSide’s trailer was designed and manufactured by Aero Build in Nashville, and it’s outfitted with an Italian Nuova Simonelli espresso machine, a commercial-grade grinder, and a drip coffee maker. Emma’s husband, Sebbastian, even built a shelf inside to help her make the most of the tight space.
Consistency matters as much as equipment, Emma says. “There’s a lot of science behind espresso and how to correctly pull shots,” she explains. “In training, I harp on how we dial in our machine every morning, adjusting the grind size and the timing so you get a consistent shot every time. People want to know what they’re getting.”
That attention to consistency shows up on the menu, which shifts with the seasons. In the cooler months, customers can find the Pumpkin Patch, a brown sugar cinnamon latte topped with pumpkin cold foam, alongside the Christmas Cookie (a cookie butter latte), the Winter Mint peppermint mocha, and an Apple Crumble Latte finished with graham cracker crumble. Emma’s personal favorite is the Salted Maple Latte, made with a specialty syrup she says balances sweetness and saltiness against the espresso blend, and tastes just as good hot or cold.
Baked goods come from Hearts ’n Home Family Artisan Bakery, a cottage enterprise in Willow Spring. SipSide offers a limited supply of scones and muffins each day. “People can preorder things like sourdough loaves, English muffins, cookies, and scones, and we serve as a pickup location,” Emma explains.
SipSide’s velvety hot chocolate is sourced from a purveyor in Garner, and the trailer’s window artwork was hand-painted by Fuquay-based SJS Creations.
“One thing that’s really important to me is promoting as many local small businesses as I can,” says Emma.
That same instinct shapes how she thinks about growth.
“I’m the first person who set up a mobile business here, and there’s been a trickle effect,” Emma says of the other food trucks that have since followed her lead. “I could be ten times busier if I jumped from place to place, but that’s not what I’m about. My heart is to build community.”
Emma estimates regulars make up about 80% of her business. “I love to get to know people and hear their life stories,” she says.
Keeping prices below most competitors in the area is part of that same philosophy, so customers feel like they can afford to come back multiple times a week.
Steven Eisenberg, a general contractor and a longtime friend of Emma’s from church, is one of those regulars. “I’m a loyal customer, and I want to do my part to help SipSide be successful,” Steven says. “I run a tab and pay it each month. My go-to drink is a black Americano.”
Behind the scenes, Emma credits her family — along with close friends Tara and Patrick Sullivan — for helping her weather every high and low along the way. “Tara and Patrick show up on early mornings to help serve at events all throughout the year, without any hesitation,” Emma says. “Tara also helps with all our social media, serving selflessly. My business wouldn’t be where it is today without their support.”
The mobile coffee bar may be petite, but SipSide still manages to serve seasonal specialties such as the Christmas Cookie Latte, locally made baked goods, and classic coffeehouse favorites.
Looking ahead, Emma’s dream involves opening a brick-and-mortar SipSide location, along with room to give back even more directly. She’d eventually like to set aside time each quarter to serve coffee, free of charge, at fire departments or for local nonprofits, as a way to support the people who serve others.
Emma Barr has big plans for SipSide Coffee Bar’s 16-ounce bottled lattes, a menu item she’s hoping catches on in a bigger way. Made to order with any milk — dairy or nondairy — and flavor combination customers want, the lattes stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Beyond a quick grab-and-go coffee, they’ve found some creative uses. Real estate agents have offered them at open houses, and Emma says they double as thoughtful, ready-made gifts for teachers and others. Around the holidays, she batches a larger supply for Thanksgiving and Christmas, giving customers an easy way to share SipSide with friends and family.
To place an order, just call, email (see contact information on the website), or stop by in person.
For now, she’s focused on the space she’s already built between Fuquay-Varina and Lillington. “There’s nothing between here and there,” she says, “so we’ve put ourselves in a good position to build from the ground up. We just need to keep promoting it and letting people know we’re here.”
Emma still thinks often about a young customer from her Chapel Hill days — a 5-year-old boy who wrote her a letter before she left, saying he wanted to open a coffee shop of his own someday, with a hand-drawn, sticker-covered picture of her trailer. “When you see the seeds you’ve planted,” Emma says, “it feels rewarding.”
SipSide Coffee Bar is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 11132 US-401 in Fuquay-Varina, with pop-up appearances on weekends. E-gift cards are available, and the trailer can be booked for weddings, business events, and other private occasions.
sipsidecoffeebar.com
@sipsidecoffeebar
