Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brady on March 6, 2009 at 3:12pm

Mark said:

Good point. But more specifically, especially from those who are in business, what makes a good location? Obviously, the corner spot on the busiest walking street is where $bucks goes...and it's also the most expensive. So given the small budgets of newbies, what do you recommend to look for in a location that may be lower in $? This has been my challenge as I too research the prospects of starting out.

Clint Slagle said:

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
I know from experience that the best coffee in the world will not save you from a poor location.

To get a good strong and steady flow of traffic through the day, you'll need a good mix of people: commuters, students, moms running errands, people on break, people having meetings, grabbing lunch, looking to hang out after dinner, etc. Eventually you'll be a destination, the key is getting the word out about your store and surviving until then. A store with good signage in a good location will do a lot of marketing for you.

Ultimately, you want to be convenient and easy to get to: Near where people live. Morning side of the road (or at least not prohibitively hard to get in to during rush hour). Shopping center with a grocery store is good, just make sure it is a nicer grocery store. Near a library is nice. Near where people work - office parks, schools, hospitals. In the middle of a healthy, vibrant smaller town is good. Where there isn't already a good coffee shop :). Somewhere with adequate parking.

Lots of factors, these seem to work to me. Keep in mind that your location will somewhat determine your customer base, so make sure it matches your operational concept.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Samir Ali on March 6, 2009 at 3:51pm

I LOVE hearing about new shops opening up! ...If you ever need anything feel free to check us out @
visionsespresso.com
just ask for me, Samir-

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Ratanas on March 6, 2009 at 7:53pm

I'm in MN and I'd be interested to know where you eventually plan on opening up. Get a bike rack installed outside, if you can. I feel like that's a good way to get people's attention that there is somewhere they should be stopping, and be functional as well. Plus-- Minnesotans love biking, right? I do, anyway.

I love the synesso system. I feel that it is very efficient, as well as consistent. The paddle and lever system is really fun to use too, a little too sensitive though, I felt like the wind would come through the door when someone came in and suddenly there would be water streaming through the empty portafilter. Ok, exaggeration... but anyway... Steam wands are amazing and ridiculously powerful, takes some getting used to. Also, I feel that the temperature control is pretty responsive, I didn't get to work with the machine for too long before I moved away from it :( so I'm not trying to seem like an expert or something here, but it sure was fun. One thing-- if you do decide to get something with manual pre-infusion, I would try to learn some about techniques and get some tips. That's the only thing I had some difficulty with, since I hadn't used something with that option before.

My other personal tips: Don't play smooth jazz. Have lots of ceramic. um... well that's all I can think of for now. Bonne chance!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Clint Slagle on March 7, 2009 at 11:55pm

Mark said:

Good point. But more specifically, especially from those who are in business, what makes a good location? Obviously, the corner spot on the busiest walking street is where $bucks goes...and it's also the most expensive. So given the small budgets of newbies, what do you recommend to look for in a location that may be lower in $? This has been my challenge as I too research the prospects of starting out.

Clint Slagle said:

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
I know from experience that the best coffee in the world will not save you from a poor location.

Different locations will obviously bring different clientele in. Higher foot traffic areas are obviously the most desirable (ie downtown locations). Street traffic is a little harder to pull in, especially in more sprall'd out cities or suburbs as you have to get your customers out of the damn cars (which is amazingly hard). Breaking old customer coffee habits (other shops) is also tough, even if your coffee may be better! Make sure you are visible and easily accessible!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Pangi on March 8, 2009 at 6:14pm

Sparked by Jon Mitchell's comment.
Can anyone offer advice on tools for pricing/business plans?
Thanks.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sam Watana on March 8, 2009 at 8:12pm

Hi,

I'm going to open my second shop in a few months too, just got the lease contract signed. I'm from Thailand so I don't know if this will help you much or not. My fav machine is the Speedster and L/M but pricewise its just too expensive with the shipping cost here, so I ended up with the equally stabled Dalla Corte Evolution 2 group and a Compak K10 Conical grinder. Favorite syrup would be Monin, would want to try Ghirardelli or Guittard but both are not available here. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Sam

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Curtis on March 8, 2009 at 9:12pm

Ive been running a place for 3 and a half years now, and my advice on opening a place is to make sure that it reflects above all else what interests u have and love. You should reflect the clientele you will have for business purposes and making it a place they want to come and stay, but at the same time it is going to be u that is there 12 hours a day. So you want a place that you are going to love to be around all the time, love to work for, love the ppl you hire and the atmosphere you create. Some cafes take a while to get going. You dont want to give up that large of an investment because you hate going there. get great coffee that you love, music you love, set up some laptops in an environment and place all your friends want to come down and hang out with and you'll go far.

Peace

Curtis

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mark on March 8, 2009 at 9:29pm

Ok, second question for starting out. It may sound sacrilegious to even mention it, but the cost of a new top of the line espresso machine looks to be $10k+ (Synesso, L/M)...what's the best machine for a small shop to start out, with saving as much $ so crucial?

Sam Watana said:

Hi,

I'm going to open my second shop in a few months too, just got the lease contract signed. I'm from Thailand so I don't know if this will help you much or not. My fav machine is the Speedster and L/M but pricewise its just too expensive with the shipping cost here, so I ended up with the equally stabled Dalla Corte Evolution 2 group and a Compak K10 Conical grinder. Favorite syrup would be Monin, would want to try Ghirardelli or Guittard but both are not available here. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Sam

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Curtis on March 8, 2009 at 9:33pm

You have to remember, in this business your espresso machine IS your business. If you get everything else used as ccheap as you can and whatever it doesnt matter. but if your espresso machine breaks down on you 3 months later you're hooped. It should be the showboat of your business. Course thats me... some cafes focus on other things. but im all about the coffee.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jon Mitchell on March 9, 2009 at 6:53am

Brady said:

CoffeeBuzzMN said:

thanks Brady, i appreciate your input but the lack of information on my profile is a personal choice and NOT a reflection of my experience.
The purpose of my post was really to hear people's preferences in regard to different brands to help with my purchasing choices. I would also love to hear words of wisdom from those who own their own places, as I am a first time owner--which again does not reflect my experience in the industry.

CB, very glad to hear that. Seen too many nice people that knew nothing about coffee open shops... not good for anyone.

Brady, are you saying that people with limited knowledge of coffee shouldn't open shops? Does that mean that only people that have worked in a commercial or independent shop for several years should be the ones to open their own shops?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jon Mitchell on March 9, 2009 at 7:54am

Devon said:

I, too, am in the business plan stage. I have been researching the industry for a couple of years now - slowly making my way toward the big dream! I took a "fast track" course through my local women's business development center and have attended Coffee Fest the past two years... both very helpful.

Jon... you mentioned working with a specific roaster, which in turn has helped you on the planning end. I know of a couple local roasters here in Chicago (Intelligensia and Metropolis) but I was hoping to do a lot more taste-testing when my big day got closer to help me choose one. Do you suggest picking one with good service to help guide me and possibly switching to someone else to actually get my beans from later? I would feel awfully bad about that! Also, how did you go about choosing one to help you?
Devon

Devon, I'd suggest NOT getting help with planning from one company and then jumping to someone else to supply your beans. Bad practice. As I've seen in my short short time getting into this industry, this is truly a community of people that want to see others succeed. So far with every vendor or supplier I've contact or talked to personally, I've seen people that seem to want to help me move forward. Of course I understand that there is some selfish motive for this on their part (gives them more business) but that's okay.

I'd say pick a handful of roasters to contact. For the sake of an example let's say, Batdorf & Bronson, Intelligentsia, and Cafe' Darte. Call them and see what they have to offer and see which one seems to fit your personality and communication needs the most. If they're good, they'll see where you're at in your process of planning and then they'll offer suggestions or ways to help. If you come across someone that is only interested in the bottom line or when and how much you want to order, then it's probably safe to say that they're not really too concerned with your success and you should probably keep on looking.

Just my suggestions, hope that helps in some small way.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brady on March 9, 2009 at 8:28am

Oops... meant to cite this better and don't see the "delete post" link anymore.

Jon said:
Brady, are you saying that people with limited knowledge of coffee shouldn't open shops?

I said:
Yes.

Though I wouldn't agree that several years experience are necessary, there is a certain level of experience and knowledge that increases a persons chances of success dramatically.

Do you disagree?

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page