I have kind of a unique situation. After changing jobs a few years ago I had to sell my house and move into a smallish apt. To alleviate some of the space issues I leased a large two-car garage that is right next to my apt that has 2 floors. The upstairs was used as a shop, I converted it into a living room and office, being almost 1k square feet it works very well for that. I also don't have to worry about other tenants getting upset when I crank my home theater lol.

Anyway, I am setting up my coffee bar in this area. It has a huge counter that runs more than 3/4 of the way down the length of the wall, with no cabinets above to limit space. So space isn't an issue, however, lack of running water and a sink is. My kitchen is just down the stairs and into the next building, so its not a huge deal. However I don't want to run to the kitchen every time I use the machine. I do have a 5gal water cooler that I run r/o water in, I am going to use that and mix in some spring water for my espresso machine. I have a 5 gal bucket I will keep next to the counter to dump bad shots and any other discarded water in that I will empty daily. My current thought is to have a largish container of soapy water with lid that I can set on the counter next to the machine and use it to wet a rag to clean the steam wand and drop the frothing pitcher into and then once a day take everything over to wash it and repeat. Kind of a hassle but nothing that is a deal breaker.

I am just wondering if anyone has a similar situation and how they handled it. Maybe there is another solution I am not thinking of.

A portable sink?

I've seen these used in hospitals, and they work very well. Out of curiosity, I just checked at that great medical supply house we call Amazon and found this for $400. I don't see how you could go wrong with something like it. The one on Amazon (which is used) is made by Florida Portable Sinks, but there are a few sources. I've seen Ozark portable sinks used by food concessions at the races.

You should definitely check out how the barista capsule cart has it set up. It's essentially a fully mobile coffee cart. The way they do it is to have a tank of water (either 5gal or a 10gal) and have a pump hooked up to it. Pump feeds a distribution block that leads to an espresso machine (if needed), sink, water tower, etc.

If I were you, I'd do a 5 gallon jug of distilled water, mix in your own minerals directly into the jug (matt perger has a water recipe, I believe), and hook up a flojet. The flojet can feed a faucet and your espresso machine. And as far as a drain goes... you can just use a 5 gallon bucket. When it's as full as you feel comfortable with dealing with, put a lid on it, and take it back over to your apt or wherever you wanna dump it.

You might even invest in a cambro or rubbermaid cart to push 5 gal jugs of water and waste back and forth.

Off topic: I am so in love with the idea of a 2 story garage with living space above. Not sure how familiar you are with garage journal... but my favorite garage of all time is the garage condo. I just love the concept of waking up, and walking downstairs to your garage. Looking out from your loft onto your cars.

Hmm never thought about a portable sink, but that does sound like something I will research more. I can't seem to find an affordable one like you linked, it's now showing out of stock. I will research it more.

Here's a video of a portable BBQ sink including on-demand water heater that was built from plans from another site listed in the video description.

Some grey water tanks come with built-in wheels and a handle for easier disposal.

I am still working on the sink issue, so far I have just been using a large tupperware filled with soapy water and a touch of bleach that I change daily. It works fine, but a sink would be great. Still trying to find a portable sink that will work for me.

In the meantime I have been working on the coffee bar itself. I have a huge amount of space to work with but the lighting was very poor. Since the space used to be a workshop, there are lots of bare bulbs everywhere and if they are turned on its very bright. However the switch for the lights is all the way downstairs at the bottom of the stairs. So its way too bright for normal use with them on and very dim with them off (which is very nice for my home theater) and with the switch not being easy to get too its not practical to use them every time I want coffee.

I also wanted to improve the storage space for my coffee stuff so its not just all strewn over the counter. I wanted to put a shelf up but being a loft room the walls are angled. So I ended up buying 3 metal L brackets and a 6'x18" piece of white shelving material and a scrap piece of 2x6. I cut 3 wedges out of the 2x6 and screwed them into the wall, then put the L brackets and screwed the bottom of each one into the wedges and the top of each into the wall. The wedges worked perfect and the shelf is perfectly level. I attached a three foot long bar LED light to the front of the shelf and ran the cord through the top of the bracket. That gave me a lot more light, I think I will get one more foot long LED bar light and put it on the side of the shelf right above my grinder (soon to be grinders once my K30 arrives) then I will be all set for light.

My father was helping me and he suggested I buy a 6'x8" piece of white shelving, and screw that into the bottom of the wedges. That will give me a second shelf and hide the odd looking bottom of the wedges, so I am going to do that. The 2nd shelf will still have 22" of clearance so it should be plenty, and give me even more storage. The nice thing is this space being a former shop, I was able to buy cheap materials as expensive wood would have looked very out of place. Not to mention I think the white shelving will set off my new white K30 when it arrives. I will try to get a pic up once its all done.