For Sarah Knabel, a lost job started the brewing process for a new business.

The Cascade, Iowa, resident was working in a corporate position in 2020 when she was let go during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather than viewing the situation as a personal catastrophe, Knabel decided to chase a dream. In July 2020, she opened Bob & Lou’s, a mobile coffee camper that today has grown to also include a walk-up location in Dubuque and a mobile espresso cart.

“Every day’s a different day,” Knabel said. “It’s fun to come up with new ideas and connect with the community and bring people together in a way that you never think of over coffee.”

When Knabel took the leap into the coffee business, she was 23 years old and had recently graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in marketing and public relations. While a student there, she had worked at a local coffee shop for four years.

“That’s where my love of coffee started,” she said. “After college, I moved to Los Angeles, California, and … going to coffee shops there, there’s always so much atmosphere and story to tell in each location. That’s something I wanted to bring back here.”

The idea of launching a brick-and-mortar shop seemed overwhelming, however, and the cost of purchasing or renting a building was prohibitive. At the suggestion of her sister, who had seen a coffee business operating out of a mini-bus at a farmers market, Knabel decided to go mobile.

“The first camper was a 1968 vintage Forester camper, which I renovated into the coffee shop,” she said.

Knabel selected the name Bob & Lou’s in honor of her grandparents, Bob and Mary Lou Johanningmeier, both of whom are avid coffee drinkers.

“My grandpa comes to the shop almost every day,” she said, smiling.

When winter arrived in 2020, Knabel realized she would need to retire the camper for the season. In December, she opened a shop at 1895 University Ave. next to Magoo’s Pizza.

Her initial intention was for the walk-up business to only be temporary until the weather warmed up enough to get the camper on the road once again. However, business was so brisk that she decided to make it a permanent location.

“It was so busy, with the university and the hospital nearby, I thought, ‘Why wouldn’t I try to keep it open?’” Knabel said. “In April of 2021, I hired on employees, and we’ve run both (the shop and the camper) ever since.”

Today, the business has seven employees between the brick-and-mortar and mobile unit, in addition to a mobile espresso cart Bob & Lou’s debuted last year. The cart allows the business to set up shop indoors during the winter if a business requests a pop-up appearance while the camper is not operating.

Bob & Lou’s offers a wide variety of drinks, including mochas, lattes, refreshers, Americanos, teas, hot cocoa and special seasonal offerings like gourmet lemonade in the springtime.

“We bring on new ones every year,” Knabel said of the lemonades. “We have lavender mint, strawberry guava, dragonfruit peach, blackberry rosemary, spicy jalapeno and lots of fun ones.”

She said Bob & Lou’s cold foam, a frothy milk-based topping served on cool drinks, is particularly popular among customers.

The camper is available to reserve for private events such as weddings, bridal showers and graduation parties. Knabel also brings the camper to community events, and businesses can reserve it for their employees.

On a recent morning, Loras College bought a drink for each Loras student who stopped by the camper from 8 to 10 a.m. Knabel said it was the third year the college had hosted the event for students ahead of final exams, and this year, they served 245 students in those two hours.

First-year students Sam Giglio and Ellie Bockenstedt took advantage of the opportunity to try Bob & Lou’s for the first time.

“I’ve seen social media posts about them, and we wanted to see what the truck had to offer,” said Bockenstedt, of Edgewood, Iowa.

She ordered a maple syrup chai latte, while Giglio opted for a salted caramel latte.

“Can I try a sip of that?” Giglio asked Bockenstedt, and the two sampled each other’s drinks, and smiled.

“They’re both really good,” Giglio said approvingly.

Knabel said the coffee camper will open for 2024 public events beginning this month, and its season typically lasts through October. The walk-up location on University operates year-round, as does the espresso cart.

“We always have our eye on the possibility of opening a brick-and-mortar location where people can come in and sit down,” Knabel said. “We’re just waiting for the right time. I’m always of the mindset of, ‘If an opportunity presents itself, I’m not going to say no.’”