Coffee Shop Business

D.P. said:
A lot fo of the high end commercial espresso machines are more like 7K, grinders 2-3K, and then you need to have 2 or 3 of each in a large successful coffee shop, not least to have redundancy.
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But it isn't a large successful coffee shop based on the numbers in the OP? It's a (theoretically, at least) start-up company that may well end up bust in less than 12 months time. It's like buying the most expensive set of muscle back irons when you're only just having your first golf lessons.
 
LiE said:
You can cut the salary down a lot if you do most of the work yourself.

I used to work in an internet cafe solo and serve a lot of coffees.
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better still get the jobcenter to supply you with free staff on work experience :p.
 
Theophany said:
My grandparents owned a rather successful local coffee shop for decades. The idea of spending 20 large on a commercial Gaggia espresso machine and grinder is absurd. Gaggia's most expensive commercial machine is a shade over £5,000 and their commercial grinders are below £1,000. My local Caffe Nero operates on this level of equipment despite their predictably high footfall, I can't understand how any new independent would require anything more than this.
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The equipment is the cheap part of the build out :)
 
my Mrs works in a coffee shop, she has done for 6 years with three different owners. There is no money in it especially when Costa or somebody comes along.

they have food, cakes and coffee.
 
Near a train station is ideal, the last time I was there I really wanted food/coffee but didn't fancy being ripped by platform prices, you would have course need to undercut them.
alexthecheese said:
My opening hours are 8am-6pm, 10 hours
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To catch all the commuters you'd have to open when they start arriving, which I'm thinking is going to be more like 7:00am?

Student trade is good too if you happen to be near a College. There is a tiny sandwich shop in Oxford that has students queuing down the street.
 
Difficult for the small guys to make it to be honest. Unless they make good coffee. You don't need 3 staff either.
Unless you are constantly busy why would you need 3 staff, two max. Unless you're doing food fresh in which case the chef should pay for themselves in food revenue anyway.

You can't compete with starbucks on anything except quality.
 
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I pay £1.5 for a tall Starbucks - Its actually a reasonable size.

Better idea - Rent a shop and call it 'Pure Coffee' Buy Carte Noire instant that's £2 a tub then sell a medium size coffee for £1. It will easily make 50 coffees at 2 tea spoons per cup

Ive bought this stuff and it tastes better than Starbucks!

*idea may not be legal*
 
People go into starbucks / costa and pay £3+ for foul coffee

you know why?

To look cool!!! FACT

it's an absolute fact, they sit there with their mac book pros doing nothing other than looking cool. Looking cool for who? strangers in the street who they are never going to meet.

CRAZY WORLD!
 
glen8 said:
People go into starbucks / costa and pay £3+ for foul coffee

you know why?

To look cool!!! FACT

it's an absolute fact, they sit there with their mac book pros doing nothing other than looking cool. Looking cool for who? strangers in the street who they are never going to meet.

CRAZY WORLD!
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I pay £1.50, am in there for 2 minutes and then take it back upstairs to my office. People choose to have meetings and stuff in there, I presume because its more chilled out than an office and 'casual' The one I go to is very relaxing, I can see why people chill out in there (its not a city central shop, just on the edge near offices)

Either way, when a business creates a 'scene' like this it equals massive profits. Other areas of the city have Starbucks that attract a younger crowd, maybe who you are referring to.

I hope the OP can create a shop like this, he will be a millionaire within a year or two
 
glen8 said:
People go into starbucks / costa and pay £3+ for foul coffee

you know why?

To look cool!!! FACT

it's an absolute fact, they sit there with their mac book pros doing nothing other than looking cool. Looking cool for who? strangers in the street who they are never going to meet.

CRAZY WORLD!
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It's not crazy, just basic human psychology.

Although average the coffee from Starbucks are, they taste the same all over the world, a taste that is both familiar and predictable. Plus, a lot of the variety they offer are sweet base anyway so it's hard to tell its bad coffee.
 
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