Elburn officials considering coffee bus proposal at Metra station
Elburn officials want to know a little more about what's in the brew before giving a man permission to sell Healthy Coffee at the Metra station.
They also have questions about traffic safety and handicapped accessibility for the proposed venue -- a converted motorcoach-style bus.
"It is almost like endorsing a product," Trustee Ken Anderson Jr., chairman of the development committee, said of granting a mobile vendor license. The committee had never heard of Healthy Coffee, and was concerned about some additives in it, he said.
Healthy Coffee contains ginseng extract and red reishi mushroom. The company, which offers distributorships and is based in Newport Beach, Calif., says the mushroom is a nutritional supplement "that normalizes and regulates the body's organs and functions." The ginseng is for energy.
"There are lots of great coincidences" between drinking the coffee and having improved health, said distributor Fred Scritsmier of Elburn, who is proposing the bus. He said he has to be careful about directly saying the supplements can help with medical conditions, as that kind of claim is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
"I've always wanted a coffeehouse," said Scritsmier, though he didn't think that was feasible in the uncertain economy. So he bought a bus instead, which he intends to wrap in advertising for Healthy Coffee and take to festivals and other events.
If the gets the village board's permission, he would also park the bus at the train station in the mornings and sell the coffee, as well as tea and hot chocolate, which also contain the supplements. The beverages would be served inside the bus, which would include four booths for customers to sit in.
Anderson said the village staff has been directed to get more information about the supplements, and how service would be provided to people who can't climb into the bus. No deadline was set for gathering that information.
The Elburn Metra station is on the east side of town, off Keslinger Road. It does not have any commercial amenities. A woman used to sell coffee there from a portable cart.