Opening your first Coffee Shop can be a big commitment in many ways. The most obvious is the financial commitment. Fitting out the interior of your new coffee shop is the largest barrier and so we thought it would be a good idea to discuss some ways of reducing the fit out budget.
Take on an existing coffee shop / restaurant
If you are trying out an idea and a way of serving your local community with coffee etc… It makes financial and environmental sense to take on someone elses old coffee shop. There is a good chance that the infrastructure will be in place which will reduce some of the initial costs. When we say infrastructure we mean elements like
- Electrics
- Plumbing
- Air conditioning
- WCs
All of these elements can carry a lot of costs with them and there is a good chance your customers will not see them. There will normally be tweaks that need to be carried out to whatever is in place but starting from scratch takes a lot more time and money.
Start Small
What is the smallest sized unit you can get away with operating from? It can be a good exercise to look at how many covers you need to make your business work and the counter and kitchen you will need to service those covers. Take away units can be very small still as long as your take away service is can compete with surrounding coffee shops. We can help you look at a concept plan to see what you need which can help with choosing the right site.
Over Deliver
It is fair to say that over the years the most successful businesses have not been the clients that have taken a tree to the forest. I live in Sussex and Brighton has 363 (2024) coffee shops which is 1 coffee shop for every 765 people that live there. I grew up in Crowborough, not as cool as Brighton but if you opened a coffee shop there you would find there is currently only 1 coffee shop for every 3,100 locals. The most successful sites we have designed are where client has opened in a smaller town and over delivered to the local population. From our experience this is how you get a very loyal and solid customer following.
If any of the above resonates with you feel free to get in touch via our contact page and see how we can help.