What Type of Coffee Shop Should I Open?
When we think of a coffee shop, most think of a sit down place, maybe with or without a drive through. While that may be true, there is also the coffee kiosk and coffee cart. Here are some points to consider when starting a coffee shop:
Sit down (and mix) – most advantageous if you are planning on having entertainment and events. This would be considered, more often than not the full-service coffee shop. Outside of the purist coffee house that serves nothing but coffee in only a few forms, most sit downs serve light foods to full menus, also called cafes. The mix is pretty much adding a drive through window if space allows. A drive through window can add as much as 20% more revenue to your sales because of its convenience.
Drive through (stand alone) – usually a lesser start up cost, you can have your drive through constructed off-site by a company specializing in such for about $20,000 or less. A lot of times you can get a ground lease from the owner of a parking lot that does not need all that parking space. Be sure to consult with the city planning department to be sure you can do this. It will most likely require a certain square footage of lot space for employee parking and customer vehicle ‘stacking’. This is a fancy way to say how many cars can be in line at your drive through window on your property and still allow easy flow in and out and, to still have enough space for the other tenants in the plaza. Note that if your city and/or health department does not allow portable water and sewage onsite, you will be required to install plumbing and sewer. This can get costly but if the location is prime, it will outweigh your upfront costs.
You can also find a stand-alone building that can be converted to a drive through. Gas stations and some former fast food places (without an inside dining area) are good for this. On the gas station, be sure to visit your city planning and zoning department to be sure you can convert it into a coffee drive through. You may have an issue with the car stacking again.
Kiosk – these are great for malls, hospitals, car dealerships or anywhere that you do not have or need a storefront. It’s a step above the cart (below) because the kiosk is pretty much a coffee shop that can be taken down and moved fairly easy. They are basically a prefabricated, fancy group of counters all connected together. It gives the feel of a stand-alone coffee shop. A lot of jewelry places and such have these in malls.
Cart – That pretty much says it all. A cart will cost you from $8000-12,000 or so to have built. They are also usually found in malls, car dealerships, hospitals etc. They have considerably less room than a kiosk but are a great option if you want to be in a mall or the like. You would normally be limited to serving food and bakery that is pre-packaged.
No matter what kind of coffee shop you decide to open, be sure you have researched it all, and are ready to be immersed! Starting a coffee shop will take up a lot of your time but will be worth it in the end! Good luck!
About the Author
Tony DiCorpo is a coffee shop owner, operator, barista and entrepreneur. He is also a coffee shop business consultant. Tony has extensive experience in business and more than 20 years experience in sales, customer service and business management with special focus in start-up and entrepreneurship, marketing, public relations and website design and development.
Tony also has a experience in real estate acquisitions, leases and lease negotiations, business acquisitions, fixing distressed and broken coffee shops, rehabbing distressed and dilapidated properties, business start-ups and of course, the coffee business. His complete coffee shop business plan package can be found at tonys-coffee-shop-business-plan.com
|
Presto 114316 04820 PopLite Hot Air Corn Popper
$29.99
Plug in Prestos PopLite and the party begins. In less than 2.5 minutes you will have up to 18 cups which is equal to two large bowlfuls of fluffy popcorn with virtually no unpopped kernels. And because the machine uses hot air instead of oil the resulting snack is healthier and lower in calories. Thats not to say you can nott add butter in fact the half cup measuring cup on top of the popper doubl…
|
|
Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter
$14.95
K-Cup Adapter for B40 Elite, B50 Ultra, B60 Special Edition Keurig brewer / Allows you to use any gourmet ground coffee desired in your Keurig brewer…
|
|
Putumayo Presents: French Cafe
$6.99
Although far from definitive (no Edith Piaf in sight!), this enchanting compilation delivers a perfect aural snapshot of what spending a late summer afternoon in a French cafe actually feels like. The supreme elegance and understated approach that lie at the core of these 13 tracks will delight fans of sophisticated pop. As is the case with previous Putumayo releases, the sequencing is seamless,…
|
|
Ghost World
$6.47
Our Seller’s Notes :….An MGM Classic… ..DVD…Rated….Full Screen…98 minutes….In Color…Interactive menu..DVD is in perfect order…Please note there are no inserts with this DVD….
|
