Hey stranger! You’re probably wondering what an American school bus is doing here in Iceland, about 3,000 miles from where it was built and spent most of its working life.
The whole thing started during a summer holiday back in my hometown in Romania. I was bored one day and came across an ad for someone selling an American school bus, right there in my town. My first thought was, what in the world is that doing here? I’ve always been passionate about classic cars and had already restored a few, so the idea of owning one immediately got my attention. I didn’t really know what I’d do with it, but I knew I wanted it. You don’t find many of these in Europe, let alone in Romania. So I called the guy and said, “Keep it for me. I’m taking it.”
I expected it to be in rough condition, since it had been sitting for a long time after being brought to Europe, but it was much worse than I’d imagined. It was parked in an overgrown garden, with weeds so tall you could barely get close enough to climb inside. It was covered in graffiti, the wheels had sunk into the mud, and there was plenty of rust. The interior had definitely seen better days, and the smell wasn’t great either, to be honest. But I could still see some potential.
Before ending up in that garden, the bus had spent years taking kids to school in Pennsylvania. Once its school days were over, a church bought it and used it to drive nuns around. Eventually, a Romanian guy in the US bought it from the church and shipped it to Europe. Maybe he was a bit like me, convinced he needed a school bus without really knowing what to do with it. I don’t know how many American school buses end up in Romania, but I’m glad this one did.
And if you’ve seen our “Talk to God” sign, now you know where the idea came from. A little reference to its time with the church.
I brought it home, cleaned it up and started stripping out the interior while trying to get the engine running again. Somewhere along the way, I discovered the “food skoolie” concept. It comes from the States, where people started buying old school buses and converting them into motorhomes. The idea grew to include businesses too, from coffee shops and food trucks to barbershops and little stores.
It’s a pretty practical idea when you think about it. The boxy shape gives you plenty of space inside, and if the business doesn’t work in one location, you can move somewhere else. There are lots of used school buses for sale in the US, they’re built sturdy for safety, and they’re relatively easy to work on. This is one of those cases where “they don’t build them like they used to” feels pretty accurate.
If you’re curious, google “food skoolie” or “converted school bus.” You might be surprised to find one in your own country. There are quite a few in Europe, I know of two in Asia, and there are plenty in the States. Even here in Iceland, we have 5 school buses that have been turned into businesses.
What I like about the concept is that you start with a bus and give it your own twist. They might look similar on the outside, but inside, everyone does something different. You put your heart into the build and turn it into a place that reflects your own ideas and personality.
Being a bit of a coffee head, I’d always liked the idea of having my own coffee shop, serving good Italian espresso. Now I had a bus to put it in.
For the interior, I went with American nostalgia and 80s pop culture, with a midcentury twist. Basically, things I grew up with and liked as a kid. I’d always been fascinated by American culture, and that interest grew after I moved to Iceland and started working at the US Embassy. I got to know the culture better, so when it came to choosing a direction for the café, this felt natural.
While still working there, I spent about a year travelling back and forth between Iceland and Romania. I took time off whenever I could to go back to my hometown and work on the conversion. Most of my spare time went into this project, and if I had a chance to fly over and get a bit more done, I took it.
I finished stripping out the old interior, dealt with the rust, painted the whole exterior and slowly started putting everything back together. I kept the original school bus seats because I wanted it to still feel like a school bus when you walked in. Then came a lot of searching through thrift stores for things to decorate it with.
Family and friends helped along the way, which made a huge difference and made the whole project feel even more personal. Some of them probably thought I was a bit crazy for wanting to turn this old bus into a coffee shop and ship it all the way to Iceland, but they still showed up and helped me do it.
I’d never built a café before. I grew up working on cars with my dad, so the restoration side was familiar, and I’ve always been pretty handy and willing to figure things out. But there was still a lot to learn, especially when it came to the electrics and plumbing.
The engine needed repairs too, and the whole rear drivetrain was shot. We couldn’t find a suitable replacement axle in Europe, so we used a similar one from an old Iveco fire truck. After a few modifications to the frame and chassis, we managed to fit it. And yes, the bus is still driveable today. I start it every now and then to keep things running, although it stays parked here.
Once the conversion was ready, I had to figure out how to get it to Iceland. That turned into quite a long and expensive journey of its own. A friend helped me transport it across Europe on an oversized flatbed. After days on the road, it reached the port of Rotterdam, where I’d found an Icelandic shipping company willing to load it onto their ship and bring it over.
A few weeks later, I got the notification that it was ready to collect. I dropped everything and went straight to the port in Reykjavík with a friend. After so much work and so much time spent on it in Romania, seeing it here in Iceland felt unreal.
I was so excited that I hadn’t properly thought about how we were going to get it from Reykjavík to Hella. It didn’t have insurance, number plates or registration yet. Our understanding at the time was that we could tow it as a broken vehicle without those, as long as it stayed attached to the car pulling it. So we connected it to my friend’s car with a towing rope and set off.
I was driving the bus behind his car, with the rope connecting us, making our way through Ölfus in heavy rain, with the bus loaded with all the coffee shop equipment, furniture and decorations. It was a hell of a drive. It must have been quite a sight, this little Volvo with a huge 15 ton school bus behind it. But we finally made it.
Seeing it parked in Hella was a really good feeling. I’d spent a year working on a café in a completely different country from where I planned to open it, and now it was finally where it was supposed to be.
Since opening, we’ve had people from all over the world stop by for a coffee on their way to explore Iceland. Good coffee can be a bit harder to find outside the capital, so think of us as your little resupply station along the way. We’re happy to keep you caffeinated :)
You might have noticed that we don’t have a fancy menu with loads of food options. That’s mainly because space behind the counter is our biggest limitation. There just isn’t enough room for all the cooking equipment we’d need, so we’ve chosen to focus on coffee, hot drinks and a few pastries.
The support from everyone who’s stopped by the bus from all around the world and from the local community here in Hella, has meant a lot to me. When you’ve spent so long making something yourself, seeing people come in, enjoy the place and come back again feels pretty special.
Even now, I’m still working on the bus. Some jobs take a lot of time, and because I can only do certain things once we’re closed, most of the modifications happen in the middle of the night. If you’ve visited us more than once, you’ve probably noticed quite a few changes. There’s always another idea, something to improve or something that needs fixing.
The Icelandic weather gives me plenty of extra work as well. Winters can be rough, and the wind sometimes does serious damage to the outside. We’ve been through a fair bit of that already, but we keep repairing things and doing our best to keep the place going.
As far as I know, we’re also the only school bus business in Iceland that stays open all year. The others open for a few months during the main tourist season, when the weather is better, but we’re here through the winter too, doing our best to keep you supplied with hot drinks even when it’s nasty outside.
There’s still plenty I want to do, and between new ideas and repairs, I don’t think I’ll ever call it completely finished. What you see today is what I’ve managed to put together so far, with a lot of help and a lot of late nights. I hope you enjoy being here and have a fun little coffee break from all the driving.
Lots of love,Alex