Is this opportunity as good as it sounds to me?

[caffeinatechicago]

what draws customers in?

I think that having other attractions will always help bring in business. I wouldn't rely to highly on HS students, because if they don't have paying parents, you'll have a lot ofkids running around. Having entertainment, good food and events for all walks of life will help create draw. Find a business model and a local cafe that has good draw and work off that to create your own special "brand".

 

[ElPugDiablo]

I just re-read your original post, Monday - Friday 6am-10am. Is that a typo or you really are planning 4 hours a day?

 

[Ruby]

Weekday mornings for 4 hours and after school hours and evenings not yet determined- for sure weekend afternoon/evenings. I know that sounds crazy to someone living in the city but it is very normal in these small towns for stores and restaurants to have hours like that. If it paid to be open more I certainly would be open to staffing the store additional hours but to start out it would be a lot less hours than your typical city cafe.

Like I said that sounds crazy but it is very much the norm. I frequent multiple businesses that would be open 6-7 days a week all day in a city that around here are open 4-5 days a week with limited hours. As long as the hours are posted clearly and aren't changing from month to month it is perfectly acceptable.

 

[Fred44]

My 2 cents. If you are purchasing the building and going to live in there, your financial risk is very low. No matter where you live, you have to pay a mortgage, by having your coffee shop in the same building, it's like having a coffee shop with free rent! What's the worst that can happen? You have a home with a retail area below that you could rent to someone else, or try a different business.

I think the biggest problem I see with coffee shops that fail is their overhead is way too high. Most of the successful shops I see around here (semi-rural, population about 6,000) are small, less than 1000 sq-ft. Independents that are in strip malls paying $2000 in rent have a huge nut to crack to make any money. Those are the ones that are first to go out of business.

If the gas station is busy in the morning, there definitely seems to be a need in the area. One of your main jobs is to educate your customers that your coffee is superior. Most Americans have been used to drinking swill since the 1950's and don't know how great coffee can really taste. You need to educate them.

2500 is not a lot of people. I've read industry data that says you should capture 2% of the traffic that goes by your place each day. Do you have traffic counts for your road? They should be available through your Dept of Transportation. Lets just pretend you can get 2% of 2500 people in your town. That comes out to 50 customers per day. Average ticket is say $3-$4 per person. That's about $150-$200 sales per day. That's not much, but if your costs and overhead are low, it's enough.

Good luck. Follow your dreams, but do your research and try to keep your emotions in check.