“The Human Bean on Wheels” gets a second life to provide university concessions
At a ceremony held on Nov. 30 at Canvas Stadium, Colorado State University Director of Athletics Joe Parker accepted the gift of a custom food truck from the Shermans, owners of The Human Bean Northern Colorado.
“We have a long-standing relationship with The Human Bean and their leadership team. Frank and Kay Sherman are remarkably generous people who value the student-athlete experience and are always seeking ways to support CSU Athletics,” Parker says. “The truck has been a fixture on campus, and with this latest donation, it will continue to serve the Colorado State community as a mobile concession outlet for multiple sports. We are grateful for this thoughtful gift.”
The Shermans didn’t just build a food truck, but rather a state-of-the-art kitchen on wheels, investing close to $500,000 in the vehicle. The truck was designed and built by world-class companies. “It’s just the way The Human Bean does business,” Frank says.
Handing off the keys to The Human Bean Northern Colorado’s coffee truck.
The coffee truck process started in late 2012. It took a year to design and then another year to build the coffee truck, as there was no other like it. The truck motor and chassis (comparable to UPS trucks) were built in Indiana. SVI Trucks—a Fort Collins-based contractor with the motto “If you can dream it, we can build it”—customized the vehicle to Frank’s specifications. He wanted the 31’ x 8’ truck to resemble the size of the first The Human Bean stores he built, and he wanted this one-of-a-kind truck to include items such as an incinerating “space toilet.” Unlike most food trucks that must move every 24 hours, this is fully licensed by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) as a commercial kitchen, so it can remain in a single location.
For Frank, staying connected to Colorado State, and specifically the athletic department, has always been a primary focus for him and The Human Bean. The baristas who worked at the coffee truck on campus were all Colorado State students and served over 50,000 beverages to staff and students while it was parked there.
The Human Bean Truck has logged about 50,000 miles since beginning operations in the summer of 2015. “Our first event was the Greeley Stampede, then we became a fixture at The Lagoon Summer Concert Series where we operated for the past eight years. We also served the Larimer County Fair, Fort Collins Soccer Complex, multiple summer music festivals, Warren Air Force Base and many others. The Human Bean moved the food truck to our CSU pad site that fall, which served as a home base while the truck continued to serve the community on weekends and school breaks.”
Ben Lucas of Ram Sports Properties arranged the CSU partnership contract through Ram Sports Properties. “We were thrilled to partner with The Human Bean on the coffee truck in 2015,” Ben says. “Many people deserve credit for thinking outside the kiosk and bringing the truck to life. While we are sad to see the truck go, we are excited knowing that it will go back to CSU to help serve our fans for many years to come.”
CSU Athletics partnered with Oak View Group Hospitality to facilitate all food and beverages at Canvas Stadium, Moby Arena and the softball and soccer fields. OVG will retrofit the truck and apply a new CSU wrap for the vehicle, says General Manager Shawn Sumstine. “This is a different concept from the normal concession stand. I’m excited about having it possibly at different events, even catering events.”
“The Human Bean Truck has such sophisticated equipment that needed to be recalibrated each time it was moved to preserve the coffee quality, which led to significant maintenance bills,” Frank says. He began to think it could be a good idea to gift the truck to CSU. Plans for the donation were put in motion earlier this spring after Frank and Kay encountered Joe and Jen Parker at a Colorado State softball game.
Frank told Joe he was thinking about donating the truck to CSU and asked if it would interest him. “Joe started his process on his side to see if there would be interest, and he came back and said we’d love it,” Frank says. “That’s where it started—with that conversation with Joe and Jen.”
“My wife and I have lived in Fort Collins for 25 years. We’ve been involved with CSU, starting with season tickets to football and basketball back in the day. We just have a love for the university. We know what this university means to the state of Colorado. It’s a world-class university. How could you not love CSU?”