Cafe Capacity

[KidsBeeHappy]

One of the main assets a cafe can have is the intangible. The atmosphere, the banter etc. In the cafe my family they have their "regulars" and many of them aren't simply once a day visitors, but several times a day. Things like knowing their names, having a bit of chat with them when the queues allow, letting them off that 5p that they just can't find, doing that "special favour" thing and maybe picking them out of a queue of holiday makers and just passing over to them what it is that you know that they take at that time of day. All that stuff buys loyalty and that's priceless.

And your holiday makers will become regulars too, if you look after them right. returning year after year.

This is the stuff that they don't teach on courses, but if you were to stop 10 people in the street and ask them why the go to the cafe they go to, then these will be the reasons, very little to do with the produce.

 

[Rhodes100]

It is easy to assume that if you slam as many covers in your premises as you can that would mean that your turnover increases.

It can however easily look too crowded and it would put people off using the cafe, they want it to be an enjoyable experience not one where they are constantly being harrassed by people walking behind them and knocking into them.

You will also need space for the waiting staff to be able to comfortably serve without the same problem.

The capacity of the kitchen is also another important consideration there is no point in having 35 covers if the kitchen cannot possibly cope with that many orders.

The success of a cafe will not be based on the busy period but in getting people there during the off period.

 

[IndiCafe]

It is easy to assume that if you slam as many covers in your premises as you can that would mean that your turnover increases.

It can however easily look too crowded and it would put people off using the cafe, they want it to be an enjoyable experience not one where they are constantly being harrassed by people walking behind them and knocking into them.

You will also need space for the waiting staff to be able to comfortably serve without the same problem.

The capacity of the kitchen is also another important consideration there is no point in having 35 covers if the kitchen cannot possibly cope with that many orders.

The success of a cafe will not be based on the busy period but in getting people there during the off period.

The balance of square metres versus customer numbers is part of the reason for my original post. I need to get a good view of what my sales might be so I know whether they cover fixed costs like rent/rates (which are obviously priced per sqm).
According to my visio drawings I need 120 sqm to fit my design, 80 for front of house, approx 15 kitchen and 25 for stores, office, staff changing room and toilets. The challenge is that the cost per sqm is currently making fixed costs too high. This is the great thing about having a financial model. I can tweak my sizes, number of tables etc to understand whether smaller premises would work better financially. But everything is trade off... I don't really want a pokey little place, as it would reduce my sales and change the design.

I think your last point is absolutely right. Our location will go quiet during winter, and its possible we would run at a loss for a few months due to the high fixed costs. I need to work out whether that is really the case, and if so address it in the plans somehow.

Actually... any idea what a typical figure would be for rent as a percentage of net sales?

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I think your last point is absolutely right. Our location will go quiet during winter, and its possible we would run at a loss for a few months due to the high fixed costs. I need to work out whether that is really the case, and if so address it in the plans somehow.

Tourists are the icing and jam. Locals are your bread and butter. Make it work on those principles and you'll have a long term viable business.

Businesses that are wholly or mainly dependent on Tourism can get quickly wiped out by factors out of their control. Talk to anyone in the Lake District about what happened in Foot and Mouth. Collapse of the Euro = very cheap European holidays, 2 really bad/wet/cold summers in a row, etc etc etc.