US Air Force Veteran and HPU alumnus Joe Real is the owner and founder of Drive Thru Joe.
Joe Real.
Over the last several years, Joe Real (BSBA ‘20) has been on an entrepreneurial journey to deliver delicious and affordable coffee quickly to the service men and women stationed on Oahu. His company, Drive Thru Joe, currently operates at seven different locations on military bases around the island with plans to expand to more.
“Looking back on the whole experience, I think I was just powered by raw ambition,” he laughed.
From Air Force to Entrepreneur
Real’s path to becoming a coffee business owner started while he was serving as an E-5 in the United States Air Force. He was stationed on O’ahu in a detachment belonging to the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron based out of Okinawa, Japan. And he often found himself tasked with making coffee runs for his unit; a process that was far from convenient.
“I was always running off base, losing my parking spot, and standing in long lines just to bring back a bunch of coffees that were probably ordered incorrectly,” he recalled. “As the ‘coffee guy,’ I just knew that I could do this better.”
Determined to fill this need, Real began saving during his deployment to Bagram, Afghanistan in 2016. His goal was to return from deployment and launch a mobile coffee business. But Real is a realist, and he knew that there was a lot he would need to learn in order to successfully run a business beyond knowing the best places to source beans.
He parlayed that sense of practicality into a decision to enroll Å·ÃÀAƬ through the Military Campus Programs, using his GI Bill to fund an undergraduate degree in business before separating from the Air Force after eight years of service.
“One of the best parts about HPU was that I could apply what I was learning directly to my business,” Real said. “I wasn’t just going through the motions. Every assignment, every SWOT analysis, was focused on coffee. By the time I finished my undergrad, I had researched all of the big names in coffee, and I knew exactly where Drive Thru Joe would fit into the market.”
Launching a Mobile Enterprise
With a business plan in hand, Real invested his savings into his first coffee truck, aptly named “The War Machine” after an old military term defined as “powerful weapon, such as a tank, bomber, or submarine.” He flew the truck out from Arizona on his own dime and it came with some challenges.
“It was every bit of your first food truck experience,” he laughed. “The lights flickered, equipment failed, and I was Googling how to froth a latte the night before we opened.”
Despite these hurdles, Real persevered, motivated by the belief that if “16-year-olds could do it at Starbucks, I could figure it out too.”
Real secured a contract with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) to operate on Hickam Air Force Base, and Drive Thru Joe became a true reality, launching in December 2017. From there, he quickly expanded to locations across Oahu.
“It was all about providing quality service for our heroes,” he explained. “From day one, we’ve been veteran-owned and operated, from our baristas to our coffee roaster.”
Joe Real with Lt. Beans; the team of Drive Thru Joe looks forward to serving you at seven different locations on Oahu military bases.
The commitment to a 100% military-affiliated staff is central to Drive Thru Joe’s mission. For Real, it’s not just about serving coffee, it’s about building up the military community and providing a valuable business model for veterans and their military family members.
“Drive Thru Joe isn’t just a job,” Real said. “It’s a portable career for those transitioning out of the military or for family members who need experience they can take with them wherever their active duty service member gets stationed.”
His success is underpinned by a tireless work ethic during that time. He was balancing 18 to 20 hour days between running the business and completing his studies Å·ÃÀAƬ.
“HPU offered me the flexibility to work on my business while earning my degree. The professors were incredible, many of them still active in their fields, offering real-world insights that you don’t get everywhere. The whole experience opened up a lot of doors for me,” he said.
Expanding the Mission
Real’s vision for Drive Thru Joe goes beyond coffee. He is exploring opportunities to expand to more military bases, with a broader vision of franchising Drive Thru Joe trucks to other veterans.
“I want to create a business platform that empowers veterans to start their own ventures,” he explained.
He envisions providing fully equipped coffee trucks and the business infrastructure needed to operate them successfully. “Our goal is to offer a franchise that veterans can take anywhere, with the training and logistics support needed to thrive,” he said.
Real also sees the potential in expanding Drive Thru Joe’s online presence, offering products like branded coffee beans and syrups to loyal customers.
“We’ve built something special with our brand recognition, and there’s so much potential to grow,” he said. “We’ve had customers who have moved from Oahu and are stationed elsewhere reach out to us and ask if they can buy beans or syrups and have them shipped. We also sell branded t-shirts and stickers. It’s cool to be driving around and then see a Drive Thru Joe decal on the back of a vehicle.”
With an eye on the future, he is seeking the right investor, someone who offers more than just capital, but the strategic partnership needed to scale his business to new heights. He’s also interested in pursuing an MBA to augment the lessons he’s learned from both his military service, his studies Å·ÃÀAƬ, and the hands-on experience as a small business owner.
“I would love to see Drive Thru Joe everywhere. The opportunities for this business are endless,” he concluded.
Real’s story is not just about brewing coffee; it’s about brewing success, community, and opportunities for veterans, one cup at a time.
