A Twin Falls Business Man Goes Beyond the Call of Duty [The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho]

Jan. 04--TWIN FALLS --The scent of fresh coffee and the rock music of the '80s filled the cab as John Kelley stopped for his next delivery.

He climbed from the driver's seat and entered the heart of the custom-designed truck -- a small kitchen where coffee beans, grinder, espresso machine and syrups waited.

While a Prince song played from the truck's speakers, Kelley reached for a pinch of this, a dab of that. Before long, a steaming cup of mocha sat on the counter. He was out of the truck a couple of minutes later, greeting a client.

"Try that to see what you think," he told Gracie Prescott, a hairdresser at D&L Academy of Hair Design in downtown Twin Falls. She had ordered a Three Musketeer, one of Kelley's unique mochas.

"Perfect," Prescott said. Another happy customer.

Kelley owns and operates Mocha N' Motion, a coffee delivery business that caters to a growing clientele around Twin Falls. He started selling coffee the day after Black Friday in 2010. It took years of planning, however, before he opened his company-on-wheels.

Kelley worked in construction before a dour economy forced him out. Wanting to do something entirely different, he bought an ice cream truck but with something else in mind: selling fresh, custom-made coffee.

Before going on the road, Kelley spent months experimenting with flavors. He'd get ideas from YouTube and then try his own recipes, often soliciting the help of neighbors to try his brews. They'd tell him which ones they liked, which ones they didn't, and then Kelley would go back to work on them again.

"How in the world are we going to find a product that will sell?" he remembers asking his wife, Kimberly. The answer came from Treasure Valley Coffee in Boise, where he buys dry-roasted beans. All of the products he uses come from Idaho, Kelley said.

And because he owns his business outright -- he put around $100,000 into buying and designing the delivery truck -- the only overhead he has is insurance and fuel, spending between $450 and $500 on gas a month.

"It's been a really good year," he said in December.

Kelley never served in the armed forces, but you wouldn't know it by looking at his green-and-white truck. Its sides depict a cup of coffee parachuting from the sky. A motto is painted above the door: "Serving above and beyond the call of duty."

The mission: Drop into a person's day and give them service and a product that will make them smile.

His clients, who call or text him their orders, have about as much affection for Kelley as he does for them.

"He's just like a good friend," said Jim Purves, owner of Clos Office Supply. He and daughter Shelley like Kelley's pumpkin and Mexican mochas.

"The pumpkin mocha is to die for," Shelley Purves said.

Kelley begins his days visiting clients at the College of Southern Idaho, call centers and doctors' offices before heading to downtown shops. Some of his clients have come on board within the past couple of months; others have been with him all year.

"He's a lot of fun," said Katie Bowman, a hairdresser at D&L. A few of the women at the salon order from Mocha N' Motion several times a week. "It's delicious. It's much better than Starbucks -- better and cheaper."

What's most popular? Kelley sells drip coffee, but most of his customers seem to prefer the sweet stuff, Kelley said. And for non-coffee drinkers, no worries: He offers hot chocolate. Bagels and muffins also are on the menu.

Candy Retmier, an office worker at Dr. Alan Olmstead's dermatology office, likes to order a bagel with her favorite brew, a skinny vanilla latte.

"Let me toast it for you," Kelley told her. "You'll like it better toasted."

When he had gone back to his truck, Retmier said: "It's great service."

"He gives amazing service," Staci Carter, a client at The Locker Room, echoed a little while later. "I used to be a fan of Starbucks, but not anymore."

Kelley said he is considering buying a stationary shop, or even hiring an employee sometime. But it's a tough decision, he said, because he likes to oversee the making of every cup of mocha.

It has taken him a year to get his technique down, and his customers don't seem to be complaining. If they ever do complain, he said, he'll give them their money back or make them another brew.

"I'm so into customer service," Kelley said. "I want people to be happy."

After a few laughs with another client, Kelley was back in his truck, on his way to his next stop.

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