Phone box coffee shops

[RPower]

I've just spotted this enterprising entrepreneur on ITV this morning - he's turned an old red phonebox into a coffee shop.

There seems to be a trend toward the more unusual, quirky businesses and premises especially within the coffee/food industry recently (cereal bars, crisp sandwich cafes, self serving hotels) - which leads me to ask for a bit of fun, if you could set up shop in any disused building, place or area, what kind of business would you create and where?

Also - have you spotted any more unusual shops or cafes around your area?

 

[Dan Izzard]

There's a cafe in an old toilet block not too far from me! I think there's probably an opportunity to use railway carriages too - or shipping containers seem to be a good size space!

 

[Paul Murray]

I still find it amazing how a little twist on an idea can have such a huge impact on business. Consumers seem to lap up anywhere that's a little different or quirky (especially when it comes to food and coffee).

In Manchester, there's no shortage of new places popping up all the time that seem to revolve around a gimmick to draw customers in. At the end of the day, he's still selling coffee, but the postbox is the draw, and that's why people go, at least for the first few times.

If I were to do something like this, I'd want whatever I was selling to be mobile, so I could go to the customers premises ("The coffee-man's outside!") or I could cycle round the city centre and people could flag me down for a brew (though I imagine getting a license to do that would be nigh impossible).

I'm actually surprised coffee chains haven't started offering local delivery for orders over £X (or have they?). Perhaps that's somewhere smaller businesses can compete?

 

[RPower]

That's a really good point about mobility @Paul Murray - there's an ice cream selling-man in Bristol who cycles his ices around (via a freezer box in front of the bike) and he gets everywhere with that!

I'm not sure what kind of licence he is, but it means he can bring his product into street festivals, parks, crowded places where ice cream vans can't get.

Very clever indeed.

 

[Scalloway]

In our town there is a takeaway that uses an old weighbridge office in an industrial estate. It's very handy because of the parking that was there for the waiting trucks.

 

[Funding for Communities]

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/foundation-project

You may never look at a skip the same way again

Mike
Funding for Communities

 

[Paul Murray]

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/foundation-project

I LOVE that crooked door!

 

[Deleted member 226268]

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/foundation-project

You may never look at a skip the same way again

Mike
Funding for Communities

You can imagine the struggle trying to get planning permission for that Old Skip Cafe in the UK.

 

[RPower]

@dave archer that might be an interesting theme to investigate actually!

 

[Bartholomew Hearn]

Imho, food and drinks are, they have been and always will be the best niche ever and any "extra charms" to it are A+. I ended up at pinterest browsing all sorts of movables and what comes to my mind is: scarcity. What if, let's say the bicycle icecream man visits your location once a week? Every SAT/SUN for a fixed period of time and thus forming (hopefully) a consumer habit? Sounds like the best Step 2 after.. you manage to think of / build any form of movable food/drinks business ...

edit: what if you could manage to think of some kind of a flat pack structure! something you disassemble and reassemble! I think I should do a brainstorming list.

 

[RPower]

@Bartholomew Hearn It's funny you say that, he does come around the same spot every lunchtime, everyone starts to expect him then!

The flatpack idea sounds like an amazing one, it'd mean not only is it movable but maybe not liable to the same business rates and rents as a normal fixed premises? (someone please correct me on this one!)

 

[Bartholomew Hearn]

It really depends on what you manage to build. Who knows... you might to something you build really fast and stays on wheels or.. something more solid like a small cottage, although I would go for something that stays on wheels.