Pricing, setup, capacity, service areas and how the whole thing actually works. If your question is not here, ask us directly — we answer within 24 hours.
A full espresso bar on wheels. Ethos brings a purpose-built cart, a commercial espresso machine, a grinder, draft cold brew on tap and a trained barista to your venue. It is not a coffee urn on a folding table — every drink is pulled, steamed and finished to order, the same as you would get at a specialty café in Philadelphia.
None of the three. The cart is fully self-contained. We bring our own water and we leave with our own waste. All we need from your site is a standard outlet, a flat space about eight feet by four, and a path wide enough to wheel the cart through. That is why it works in lobbies, showrooms, backyards and ballrooms alike.
About 45 minutes to an hour from the moment we can get into the space, and roughly 30 minutes to break down. We build that into our arrival time rather than your service window, so the bar is dialed in and the first shot is pulled before your first guest walks up.
Around 100 guests in two hours at a comfortable pace. Past that we add an hour of service for every additional 50 guests so the line never stalls. For a heavy simultaneous rush — a conference break, a 300-person reception — we run draft cold brew alongside the espresso machine so two drinks can go out at once.
Yes, with a level surface, access to a standard outlet and cover from direct rain and full sun. Philadelphia summers get hot and fall ceremonies get cold fast, so tell us the outdoor plan when you book and we will confirm exactly what the site needs.
It depends on the event. Private events — birthdays, showers, graduations, family parties — start at $600. Corporate events, weddings and brand activations start at $800. Either way the minimum covers two hours of full barista service for up to 100 guests, including setup, cleanup, staffing, every drink and all supplies. Larger groups add one hour per additional 50 guests, and venues more than 50 miles from Philadelphia add a travel rate of $50 per hour. Most events land between $600 and $2,000 depending on guest count, hours and branding.
Flat. You are not counting cups and there is no surprise line item on the final invoice. Inside your service window, your guests drink as much as they want.
Corporate events: three to four weeks. Weddings: six to twelve months for peak Saturdays in spring and fall. September through December is our busiest stretch of the year. If you have a date in mind, ask early — checking availability costs you nothing.
Within 24 hours, and it will be an actual number rather than a request to hop on a call first. Send us the date, the headcount, the venue and the window you want us there.
Philadelphia is our base of operations. We regularly serve the Main Line, Montgomery and Chester Counties, Lancaster County, South Jersey and the Delaware Valley, and we travel to New York City, Baltimore and Wilmington for brand activations and multi-day conferences. Somewhere else in the Northeast? Ask — we quote travel honestly and up front.
Ethos is fully insured and can issue a certificate of insurance naming your venue or building management. Most Center City venues and office towers require one. Send us the venue name when you book and we handle that paperwork with them directly, so your planner is not chasing it.
Tell us your backup plan when you book — a tent, a garage, a covered entry or an indoor alternative — and we will confirm it works well before the day arrives. For date changes, reach out as early as you can and we will move you to another open date if we have one.
Your date is held once a deposit is in. The balance is due ahead of the event, and everything is spelled out on the quote before you commit to anything.
Client and board meetings, all-day conferences, employee appreciation days, office openings and moves, holiday parties and recurring office coffee mornings. See the corporate page for how each one is usually staffed.
Yes. Most conference clients book a morning block and an afternoon block rather than running straight through, because the traffic comes in waves around the agenda. Send us the schedule and we will recommend the windows that actually match your breaks.
Yes. Custom cart signage, branded cup designs and your logo printed directly onto the latte foam are all available. It turns the coffee line into the most photographed corner of the event, which is usually the point.
Regularly. We have done Center City buildings with freight elevator windows, badge requirements and COI submissions. Give us the building contact and the load-in rules and we work inside them.
It is one of the few that costs less than catered lunch and gets remembered longer. Roll the cart onto the floor unannounced on a Tuesday afternoon and people talk about it for weeks. It also gets the whole office out of their chairs and into the same room, which catering to desks never does.
A swag table gets a glance. An espresso bar gets ninety seconds of undivided attention while the shot pulls, a real conversation with your team, and a branded cup that walks the floor for the next hour. See the brand activation page.
Three layers, and you can use any or all of them: custom signage wrapping the front of the cart, a custom cup design your guests carry away, and your logo printed into the latte foam by our Ripple printer.
Three to four weeks is comfortable for a full cart wrap plus custom printed cups. Latte art printing needs far less — if your logo is a clean file, we can turn that around in days.
Vector files are ideal for the cart wrap and the cups. For foam printing, a high-contrast logo on a transparent background reads best; fine gradients and thin hairlines disappear into the milk.
Plenty of clients print a QR code directly onto the latte foam or the cup sleeve. It is the rare lead capture that people photograph before they scan it.
Cocktail hour and the last hour of the reception are the two strongest windows. If you can only pick one, take the late block — the dance floor thins around the third hour and an espresso bar brings the room back. See the wedding page.
Yes. The Ripple printer puts your monogram, initials or wedding date directly onto the foam of every latte. Guests photograph it before they drink it, every single time.
Most of our private events are at homes. We need a flat spot about eight feet by four, a standard outlet within reach, and a path wide enough to wheel the cart through. Driveways, patios, garages and open living rooms all work.
Hot chocolate, matcha, chai, tea, iced tea and lemonade are all on the bar at no extra charge. Kids usually go straight for hot chocolate with printed art on top.
No minimum headcount, but there is a minimum booking rate. The base covers up to 100 guests, so a party of 30 pays the same as a party of 90 — which is why smaller groups usually put the difference into custom latte art instead. See the private events page.
Send us the date, the headcount and whatever you are wondering about. You will have a real answer back within 24 hours.
Request a Quote