About.

Kerry Bisley was raised in the logging town of Tokoroa during the 70's. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1982 and trained as a chef. After 17 years of cooking and traveling the world it was time to move on. Kerry then spent many years working in the corporate catering field; executive chef for a Italian cruise ship company and contract work. In 2000 the Waikato called him home. He was employed to help with the set up of the new Waikato stadium and was executive chef there for 7 years. After that He got into sales and food demonstrations.

In August 2012 life changed for Kerry. He was diagnosed with a cancer and under went extensive treatment. Kerry and Michelle decided it was time for a change to the life/work balance so moved from Hamilton to the beautiful town of Otorohanga. Kerry had to give up his job due to his illness at the end of 2015. However, sitting on his porch watching the world go by, Kerry decided he still needed to keep himself busy and the coffee cart was born.

What's in a name.

Thinking up a business name can be difficult. In order to get it right there can be endless hours of "yeahs and nahs" coming up with a brand.  Kerry wanted something that was close to his heart and he shared his vision with a number of people. Then a friend reminded of a naval expression and STANDEASY was born.

There are a couple of meanings for "Stand Easy" and Kerry found it really related to the coffee culture. As service personal from around the world know the command to "stand easy" means to relax when on parade, so he was able to tick the box on that;  somewhere for people to stop and relax from their travels.

In the navy it has a second meaning. It is the term given for morning or afternoon tea. So rather than "smoko" navy personnel have STANDEASY. For Kerry that ticked another box; somewhere to stop and have a brew.

So here we are STANDEASY COFFEE LTD