For Hem Pokhrel, working full time as a food-service manager at a busy college campus isn’t enough.
By day, Pokhrel, 35, has his hands full in Granville overseeing some of the operations for Harvest Table, Denison University’s dining provider. During his time off, he runs a cafe on wheels serving coffee, tea, and boba drinks to people across Licking County and beyond.
Pokhrel and his wife, Priya, 34, launched their rolling Java Joy trailer on July 31.
A Chicago native, Hem Pokhrel has long been involved in the hospitality industry. He began as a houseman at Trump International Hotel & Tower and public area cleaner at Radisson Blue in Chicago in 2010, where he lived with Priya.
He transitioned to restaurant management in 2015 at The Langham, ultimately starting as assistant dining manager at The Ohio State University in 2024. Now residing in Pataskala with Priya and their 4-year-old son, Kabin, Hem is the hospitality supervisor at Denison University.
“I’ve been in the [restaurant] industry for the last 10, 12 years,” Hem said. “So I wanted to do something on my own. I don’t want to work for anybody else. Right now, I have to.”
Hem’s decision to launch Java Joy reflects what scholars call “pull motivation.” A 2025 study in the Future Business Journal found that entrepreneurs driven by pull motivation, meaning a business driven by opportunity, are more likely to be found in growing businesses. Those driven by push motivation, or external pressure, are more often associated with struggling businesses, according to Maureen Lupunga Malesu and Pavel Syrovátka, who teaches business and economics at Mendel University.
For Hem, launching Java Joy was the logical next step after years in the industry.
“The main thing is starting small,” Hem said. “That means I can be more efficient and get more success on it.”
In its humble beginnings, Java Joy operated out of the parking lot of a Pataskala Tractor Supply store. After a month of operation with little revenue, Hem decided to switch locations.
“I moved to the Reynoldsburg area where I was able to park it overnight,” he said. “That location did not really work, and monthly rent was very high with those two not being fixed locations.”
Now, Hem prioritizes bringing the trailer to local events, such as the Fall Art & Craft Market in the Newark Canal Market District.
Madi Kessler, 20, a sophomore at Denison University, and her boyfriend, Ryen Moorhead, 19, a sophomore at John Carroll University, had been looking forward to attending the event all week.
“The service was really good,” said Kessler, taking a sip of her drink. “I got the Tropical Breeze.”
“This is the Thai tea,” said Moorhead, motioning toward his drink. “It came out really fast. I’ll definitely be coming back.”
Hem said the current fan favorite drinks are the Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso and the Topical Breeze refresher.
“I tell people to try [Tropical Breeze]. It’s plant-based lotus energy with mango pineapple flavor in it,” Hem said. “It’s the best, better than any other energy breeze.”
Priya manages the trailer when she isn’t working three days a week at a local hospital.
“I get to meet new people in the community and serve them, which is not generally possible staying at home,” Priya said.
At another event, Taste of Bexley, was Java Joy’s biggest endeavor yet.
“It’s more than 30 to 50 rentals,” Hem said. “It’s just like Taste of Columbus and Taste of Chicago.”
For many budding entrepreneurs, launching a business means long hours while working two jobs to avoid abandoning a steady paycheck.
As Kameliia Petrova explains in Part-time Entrepreneurship: Theory and Evidence, published in 2010, “Those choosing to initially remain in a wage-worker position, while at the same time pursuing a goal of starting a business, do so to maintain a living standard sufficient to meet their needs.”
By working a full-time job with Harvest Table, Hem has the ability to grow Java Joy on his own terms.
Managing two jobs is no easy feat, however.
“I do not have a personal life,” he said. “I don’t hang out with my friends. I cut off my friends like a year and a half ago. I just have life here and life at home. I don’t go anywhere else.”
Working over 30 hours a week on Java Joy, Hem sacrifices all of his free time to support his jobs and his family. His ambitions stay high, nonetheless.
“Once more people start to notice, and I’m making enough money, I want to open up a brick and mortar,” Hem said. “So later in the future, I want to have my own cafe. More like a Starbucks, but I will have a different variety of pastries and cakes and all that.”
Above all, interacting with customers and fellow vendors is the highlight of his workday. “Every time I go to events, people come and ask me, ‘Where are you going week?’ So, getting to know more people and getting to know more businesses is my favorite part.”
Nora O’Byrne writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.