Coffee Shop

[IWYS]

Since Christmas I have been negotiating terms on a lease for an existing coffee shop. The coffee shop has been newly fitted out in the last 2 years, is in a great location, and has seating for 40-50 people.

The reason for the sale was due to retirement, and although I was dubious and thought it was maybe due to the recession, it turns out that its wasn't doing too bad, and the owner had started the business from scratch 14 years ago and says it is very hard work, and wants to take his retirement.

I have noticed that turnover has been lower over the last 12 months, but I have been to the café and it has to be said, it was a little on the pricey side. I am looking to totally revamp the café and give it a new image, and am looking for ideas on how to make it different from other cafes to set myself apart.

For example I want to try and create a costa meets subway meets nando's, creating the feel of a costa but offering fresh rolls with fresh ingredients. The focus will be on fresh, healthy foods, sourced from local farmers/suppliers.

I will target the lunch trade with a meal deal, fresh baguette with drink and crisps, and a piece of fruit. We will have newspapers, and magazines. A couple to televisions. A fresh deli counter with a good selection of cheeses, fresh bread, local fruit and veg etc.

Even in this recession people are still treating themselves to a coffee and a snack. Boots, Sainsburys etc offer a meal deal for £3, mine would be £4 but would be freshly made that day, and better quality and locally sourced products.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated on how to make this a success. Things like magazines and newspapers etc are they a waste of time and money, or is this something that gives that little extra?

I also have a few businesses interested in paying for advertising on a small tv screen within the café, to give me some additional revenue streams.

The café produced net profits last financial year of £68,000 which I feel is very good. I would be happy if that stayed the same, but I could build a great reputation for quality and value.

 

[sweet lady]

I like it when you are given salad and/or crisps on the side when having a sandwich. It feels more special

 

[IWYS]

That meal deal was more for people getting lunch to take out. We would also have great selection of hot foods

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Net of £68k is really very good.Have you seen these figures signed off by an accountant?

 

[Christine Hough]

I wouldn't have a telly... its so irritation in take-aways and gyms especially when they have a row of different channels with the sound off and then unrelated sound from a radio station blaring.

I do like the idea of a deli if upsells ingredients from your sandwiches.
And local produce will make an impact too.
They are great ideas.

To increase take away turn over make sure you get the most from new communications.

Let people order beforehand and have their dinner ready. (Have an app?)
Look at packaging to see if you can make it look well branded.. not as expensive as graze, but distinctive.
Have a daily offer.
Use a loyalty scheme.

Look into how to serve people quickly and avoid queues. Maybe use contactless charging and increase the hygiene without dealing with money?

But this is both a seated cafe and a take away. Small extras on service to seated customers make a huge difference. Presentation, a chocolate with your coffee, interesting salad garnish.

Oh and while looking at the quality of your fillings, don't forget the bread. I had a fabulous 'ox burger' in a beautiful 4 * hotel. Served on a slate beautifully with salad and blue cheese dressing and then they used cheap white burger buns and it was such a shame!

 

[Talay]

Net of £68k is really very good.Have you seen these figures signed off by an accountant?

And what was it making when turnover was higher ?

Can you see tax paid, not just figures on a piece of paper ?

Owners / family benefit ?

 

[IWYS]

That was net (without owners pay). So all staff pay and expenses and suppliers etc had gone out. Owner took £40,000 as a salary, so it was £28k after everything, but I just wanted to tell you before the owner salary.

Christine...

I totally agree with you on the bread, I will be using a baker offering a great selection of artisan bread aswell as nice fresh white beguettes etc. Also I have seen the tellys in takeaways and I have seen things like coronation street etc on silent. I was thinking more like sky sports news and the news channel etc, just so people can glimpse at them. I would appreciate it if there was sky sports on a Saturday morning so I could check out all the football news for the weekend, so im sure others would

 

[IWYS]

I would also like to stock a great selection of cakes, but an unsure how to go about sourcing good suppliers for this. I went to Malta, and there was a café and they specialised in cakes. You used to go and have a huge (biggest ive seen) slice of cake and a coffee. It was really popular, and lets face it, who doesn't like a cake counter

 

[arcon5]

Scrap the TV idea. With TV comes can you turn it up/down? Can you change the channel? Different customers wanting different things.
Get a paper rack and offer free papers to read.
Be careful with hot food as service in a coffee shop needs to be fast.
Make sure your chairs are comfortable - a selection of sofa type chairs and wooden. Nothing more off putting than cheap, uncomfortable seating.
Make sure the gap between tables is sufficient.
Equally important, good coffee . Taste your own syrups first and make sure it tastes nice, costas for example are quite bland in taste, whilst Starbucks really hits the spot

 

[urgentappliance]

It's very nice to hear about your coffee shop. I am sure that people like to enjoy at your place.

 

[BelindaChong]

I have to agree with the NO TV. I imagine SKY sports broadcast to a public audience is going to be quite a cost too.

We have a great coffee shop in our town. What really makes it good is the guy that owns it, he is so friendly and always cheerful.
Good customer service costs virtually nothing.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

That was net (without owners pay). So all staff pay and expenses and suppliers etc had gone out. Owner took £40,000 as a salary, so it was £28k after everything, but I just wanted to tell you before the owner salary.

Still very good.
Now then what about the accountants or proof of taxes paid..........

 

[british steve]

I like it when you are given salad and/or crisps on the side when having a sandwich. It feels more special

I like it when you get a salad garnish with a plate of chips. It makes those chips feel so much more healthy and good for you!

 

[ThePublisher]

Cleanliness is important to me in a coffee shop. It's one of the reasons I avoid Starbucks. Tables are always covered with other customers' cups and wrappers. The other thing I hate about Starbucks is the horrible clunky mugs. Obviously made thick so they are durable, but are not a pleasant way to drink coffee. Costa has much better cups in that respect.

 

[Christiane]

I like Nero, they have newspapers, continental pastries, etc. But if I see ''sky sports'' I'll walk out, you're not attracting the same customers, I think.

 

[Amazin]

So after everything you only make 28k after tax? If you're renting then it will be even less!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Whats wrong with a £40K salary and £28K in profit sitting in the bank for a cafe

 

[EstherG]

I love meeting friends in a coffee shop but dislike how even the simplest drinks seem to take for ever to prepare. I'm happy to wait for a decent coffee when there's waiter service but hate queing at a counter.

Good luck to you though, it sounds like you have the perfect attitude to make this work!

Esther

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Whats wrong with a £40K salary and £28K in profit sitting in the bank for a cafe

Nothing at all - but I am very curios to know if the OP has seen any proof of this "income" and is not just taking the vendor's word for it.

 

[Amazin]

Whats wrong with a £40K salary and £28K in profit sitting in the bank for a cafe

Im sure there are other businesses are is more profitable. Like I sad, he's buying the lease so he will make much less than 27k per year. Im curious as to how much the lease is also the legitimatcy of it

 

[IWYS]

I have a friend who I play football with who is a qualified accountant and he has ok'd the books as legitimate. The lease/rent is already taken into account. As I said its the net profits, (apart from owner salary)

 

It sounds like it's a decent thriving business, so be careful you know what you are doing before you change it too much - no point in losing the existing clientele the guy has built up over the years.

I'd tend to err on the cautious side - take the business over, and start off pretty much as it is....then I'd slowly introduce little differences, moving it towards where I'd want it to be.

Otherwise, why not just open a new coffeee shop close by for much less outlay? Realistically, if you are planning a completely new business, then what are you paying for an existing one for?

It's a good profitable business, so don't ride roughshod over the guys years of growth....unless you are totally certain it will improve those (already good) figures.

Good luck with it.

 

[IWYS]

Thanks comspec,

These figures were for the last financial year, and this financial year are not as good, and I think its little changes that could help get things back to how they were. They are quite expensive compared to some other local cafes, which may have been fine last financial year, but more and more people are feeling the pinch this year.

Great advice about introducing things in slowly though, thanks

 

[billie1]

I would also like to stock a great selection of cakes, but an unsure how to go about sourcing good suppliers for this. I went to Malta, and there was a café and they specialised in cakes. You used to go and have a huge (biggest ive seen) slice of cake and a coffee. It was really popular, and lets face it, who doesn't like a cake counter

Hi

I am involved in the cake baking business, but that would depend on your location. Where are you based, I'm based in London.

 

[antoine82]

I agree, no TV! Very annoying.
But yes to the newspapers. Quite cheap to have and it can gain a few customers.

And I am quite impressed byt the profit to be honest... For a small coffee, that's impressive...

Can I ask how much the owner valued/sold the business?

Good luck!

 

[e-vulture]

How about free wi-fi for the punters ?

 

[JonathanSEO]

The most important part of any coffee shop for me as always been the quality of the coffee and that usually boils down to 3 things: the quality of the machine, the quality of the beans and how good the barista is that's operating it.

I think you have to get the basics right before you start coming up with more and more ideas. If you serve good coffee you're going to generate repeat business which is key.

I'd have a look around on the net and see if there are any good guides, few here might be of help:

http://www.casaespresso.co.uk/how-to-choose-the-right-commercial-coffee-machine/

 

[Mearnsy]

I've always wanted to own a coffee shop. Today it's all about creating a good environment, branding is very big in all these coffee shop chains. Think about a unique feel for the shop, retro for example, somewhere that it becomes cool to go to and people remember.

 

[Lucky7CompSolutions]

Me personally if you change things to quick you are at risk of losing your regular customers, if I was you I would settle in the cafe first, get to know your customers and ask then would they would like to see changed also go out and do some market research on what people would like a cafe to be, then make changes slowly over a period of time. if you have no experience in a cafe shop you may struggle for ideas. but again your customers know best.

 

[Mearnsy]

Me personally if you change things to quick you are at risk of losing your regular customers, if I was you I would settle in the cafe first, get to know your customers and ask then would they would like to see changed also go out and do some market research on what people would like a cafe to be, then make changes slowly over a period of time. if you have no experience in a cafe shop you may struggle for ideas. but again your customers know best.

Good call, worth asking the customers what they want or if they would change anything.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Me personally if you change things to quick you are at risk of losing your regular customers, if I was you I would settle in the cafe first, get to know your customers and ask then would they would like to see changed also go out and do some market research on what people would like a cafe to be, then make changes slowly over a period of time. if you have no experience in a cafe shop you may struggle for ideas. but again your customers know best.

So you mean like has already been mentioned in post 22?

 

[tony84]

Theres a member on here called Richie, he had a cafe that had really good food. I went in a couple of times but it wasnt the closest to where i worked. It might be worth a chat with him? He might be able to give you some hints/tips.

It was more of a cafe rather than a coffee shop but not your bacon butty type cafe.

For newspapers, in Manchester you get the daily metro which is free - you could maybe pick up a few of those? I think its handy to have papers in, people may be more inclined to stay longer.

Is there an area where you can say no kids? Keeps it quieter for people that want to come in and do a bit of work or have a meeting? When studying for my exams i used to go to my local bar because costa was too noisy, as was the local... LIBRARY!!

The other thing is good staff, chatty memorable staff who will remember your customers and make them feel valued.

 

[Lucky7CompSolutions]

So you mean like has already been mentioned in post 22?

correct but I must of missed that post for some reason great minds think alike

 

[KarlYau]

Hi, I am looking into buying a cafe, with a (reported) similar profit to yours.

I would be interested (if you know, and don't mind) to know what the turnover of the coffee shop is, and what the gross profit (before staff costs, lease, utilities) is.
Also, again if you don't mind, I would love to know roughly what you are expecting to pay for the business.
Best regards, Karl

 

[Amazin]

Is leasehold worth it? To be honest im little bit disappointed about amountof money you will be able to put into your pocket after everything.