About Us
We are outdoor enthusiasts who love vans, from the 30-year-old Vanagon to the modern-day Sprinter. We are passionate about innovative design, quality manufacturing, and creative solutions that make adventuring with our vehicles more fun.
Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, Van Cafe inspires adventure by selling accessible van parts, providing superior customer service, and creating innovative solutions to live life better. When you visit us, you will find a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with a creative fab team, an extensive warehouse of OEM and aftermarket Vanagon parts led by one of the kindest people, an expert customer service team, many smiling faces and perhaps a dog or two. Take a moment and meet our team! You can even grab a hot shower at the Rocky Mountain Oasis and park your van for the night, we would love to have you!
The Van Cafe/Rocky Mountain Westy dream was born in 1992 and is owned and operated by Mike and Greg Labate, twin brothers who are both passionate about innovation and the automotive industry. The concept bloomed from a dream to a hobby, became a part-time job, and is now a well-established small business with a ton of momentum. We make a significant portion of our products right in our facility in Colorado, which means we design, test, and are continually perfecting...everything we do. Just down the street, you'll find our sister company, Mr. Mechanic, an auto repair shop with a focus on VW Vanagons but does quality work on all makes and models.
How Rocky Mountain Westy became Van Cafe
We know it’s confusing, so we want to take a moment to tell you how Rocky Mountain Westy became Van Cafe. You know those brothers we referred to earlier in our story? Mike & Greg Labate have been in the automotive industry since 1992, creating a superior Vanagon business, Rocky Mountain Westy (RMW). RMW has been focused on manufacturing Vanagon parts and working on Vanagons at Mr. Mechanic. In the process, we have created some of the top-selling accessories on the market, like the RMW Ladder, the Switchback Rack System, and a superior Subaru Conversion Kit, just to name a few. In 2018, RMW bought Van Cafe, an OEM warehouse based in Santa Cruz, California and moved everything to Fort Collins. In 2021, we expanded our offerings to other campervans like the Sprinter, Transit, Promaster and have adopted the name Van Cafe which better explains our vision and goals. You’ll find a lot of RMW products and heritage when shopping our site. If you haven't yet, take a moment to meet the people behind Van Cafe.
