Teen opens coffee trailer so she can be her own boss
In our ‘Quaran-teen’ series of reports, we’re putting a light on some of Ireland’s most remarkable adolescents this week. They tell us about their own experiences and stories of surviving the pandemic.
As more and more businesses adapted to the changing times, coffee trucks and trailers have become a common sight in modern life.
But how many of these outdoor coffee shops are owned and operated by teenagers?
Maria Ledwith, 16, has been brewing up a storm in Granard, Co Longford, with her “Elm” coffee trailer.
In her coffee trailer, Maria Ledwiith is brewing coffee.
She started the company after being unable to find a summer job earlier this year.
She went on to say: “Rural Ireland is small, and even though Granard is a bustling town, part-time job is scarce. What could be better than being your own employer, I wondered when I saw that?”
Maria discussed the possibility of launching a coffee trailer with her parents.
“Granard, I’d always said, had a huge opening for a coffee trailer. We bought a trailer from a man in Longford who wasn’t using it after numerous meetings around the kitchen table. I then called local tradespeople, and we were able to get them to come in and renovate it. I simply thought it was more pleasant to integrate individuals in the community.”
Maria was nearing the conclusion of an interrupted Transition Year at Ardscoil Phádraig in Granard at the time, and she had plenty of time to consider business ideas.
She stated, ” “Transition Year would have been a lot busier for me if it had been a regular year, and I wouldn’t have had nearly as much time to think about these things. It’s been a struggle to stay motivated this year, but I’ve been working nonstop since we started the trailer.”
