Tyrone Perry - Bringing Great Coffee to You!

You’ve probably seen Tyrone Perry’s bright red coffee trailer parked somewhere on the side of the road. He’s become a familiar site in the foothills. I’ve enjoyed a cup of Tyrone’s coffee at the Farmer’s Market in Columbus, another cup somewhere in Landrum a year ago, and for this story I found him at Toby Wolter’s “details – luxury home furnishings” business on Ashville Highway between Tryon and Landrum. Toby invited Tyrone to set up Java Up at his shop’s location and it has worked out well for both businesses. It’s a generous offer for Tyrone who had to rent space when he first opened up his coffee window. 
 
Tyrone developed his love of coffee while serving in the Navy, which is where he headed after graduating from high school. He served nine years in the service including three years in Europe where he honed his coffee tastes. After his military career Tyrone landed with the Ralph Lauren Company and that led him to the foothills where he became the manager of the store in Gaffney. Tyrone decided fifteen years with the Ralph Lauren group was enough and finally found a way to drink on the job when he became the manager of Openroad Coffee Roastery in Columbus for a year. And that helped set up the move into being his own boss.

Tyrone goes to more places than this. This graphic is a holdover from the original food trailer.

Some regular customers on a Friday morning.

Tyrone Perry

Maybe Tyrone will have his own fixed coffee shop at some point, but for now he’s playing it smart. It helps being able to scout out locations (location, location, location), keep overhead down by operating out of a food trailer, and not having to worry about employees. That could all happen one day, but for now Tyrone’s working hard to make his Java Up business a success. And it’s happening. He’s at the Asheville Highway “details” location on Fridays and has a regular stream of customers, many being local artists who come together at 10 o’clock for a meet and greet at Toby’s shop just feet away. On Mondays through Thursdays Tyrone and his mobile coffee can be found at Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg helping fuel and sometimes caffeinate students, faculty, and staff. Most Saturdays during the season you’ll find him at the Farmer’s Market in Columbus, and the rest of the time he can be anywhere. In fact, businesses occasionally bring him on site as a special perk for their employees. Yes, Tyrone hires out for special events of all types.

Java Up has been his business since August 2015. Tyrone cooks up a variety of coffee drinks including lattes, espressos, and other coffee specialties. He also can whip up a smoothie, serve killer lemonade, brew a cup of tea, and open up a bottle of some specialty waters and other drinks. All the coffee drinks are freshly ground each day. He does have a few packaged snacks if you need a little bit of sustenance. 
 
All of Tyrone’s coffee comes from Leopard Forest Coffee Company out of Travelers Rest. He says they are great roasters and has worked with them since he got started on his own. Tyrone sells their coffee both as whole bean and ground. 
 
Tyrone is taking it one day at a time. One day he might add another coffee truck or a coffee trailer; he might even open is own shop. But for now managing this and being a husband and father is more than a full-time job. Tyrone and his wife are parents to eight children. They homeschool their kids and his wife, Angela, runs most of that and also has a couple businesses of her own. That will have to be a story in itself.

​Tyrone does have advice for others looking to start their own business and that begins with doing your research. He is thankful for the help he got from the local SCORE organization, which provides free mentoring from working and retired business professionals. 

​I asked Tyrone if he remembers any coffee-business stories since he’s gotten started. He says of course just meeting new customers and having them return is good enough for him, but he did remember a time when one customer ordered a drink and only had a $100 bill to pay for it. Tyrone didn’t have enough change so the customer said he’d go get change and come on back and pay up. He never did, but then one day Tyrone found a $100 bill in his tip jar. He didn’t know which customer gave it to him…but it was a sign of good things to come.
 
Tyrone Perry is driving the coffee business in more ways than one. Next time you see the red Java Up trailer parked along side the road…make a stop, order a drink, and know you’re doing your part to “shop small.” You’ll make a new friend at the same time.

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More to know

Tyrone will be happy to bring his Java Up trailer to your location for just about any kind of special event, and he’s always thinking ahead to future locations. Give him a call at 864/ 814-8067 if you’re interested or if you just want to know where he’ll be tomorrow. His email is [email protected] and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.