New coffee retail location HELP!

[jrojas576]

Hello I am Josue new member from Southern California!

I have been presented with the opportunity to open my own coffee and tea bar
in Baldwin Park, CA right across the street from the super center walmart 12 months free
from a long time friend.

Now the catch, It is on the 2nd floor....... Parking is in the rear but it is directly in front of the entrance and exit of the walmart.
14451 Merced Ave

Baldwin Park, CA 91706

On the bright side It has a lot of traffic and I can put up a lighted sign on the top front of the building which I'm hoping really is a plus.

It will be a small batch coffee roaster (offsite at my current location for now), carrying both coffee and tea.
The space is approximately 12x30 so small but I will have to work with this since this is the only way I will be able to start up with no loans
at all and be able to relocate in the near future to a bigger site.

This is very brief but I am hoping I can get some advice and feedback on my 2nd floor space (stairs and elevator accessible).

Thank you guys!

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I would never open a coffee shop on the second floor but then again, your situation is pretty unique. I don't know much about Walmart crowd. In Michigan, I wouldn't consider opening coffee shop close to Walmart (I don't think it is right crowd) but again, I do not know much about Southern Cali crowd. Those are two things I would be worried about. If you have great view of some sort of with great big window, that is another story. What is in the first floor of the building?

 

[PinkRose]

Is the elevator accessible to the public, or just to the shop employees and delivery people?

Is your long-time friend letting you use the space for 12 months - for free?

How much money will you need to put into it for remoldeling, etc.? That money will be lost when you move to a new location in a short amount of time.

Rose

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I wasn't really worried about the build out cost since his space is only 360sqft. It won't cost much or need to do much. Just some shelvings and painting and carpet if it needs. I would think most expensive build out would be entrance door. I would put in glass door and leave them open at all time.... If they allow and have some room, cut out the wall and install some glasses so people can see the store and glass wil make the store look much bigger. But all in all, it won't cost too much.

 

[jrojas576]

Thank you guys!
The crowd here is very very high traffif, a good portion are coffee drinkers, provided they can find me first. I'm right off a major freeway intersection so there is alwa us traffic on the street, very slow moving traffic.
The elevator is accessible to the public as well as myself.
Remodeling won't be much of an issue just need to make the door and now I'm going to see into putting glass on another part of the wall to use as much of it to my advantage.
my direct neighbor is a high traffic 3d4d ultrasound clinic chain that has been successfull in many other locations, an optometrist with high traffic and on the 1st floor a very large boost mobile retailer(phone company) with very very high foot traffic they would let me place a sign on their street front.

 

[PinkRose]

It sounds like it's worth a try. Good luck with your plans.

 

[slurp]

They only second story coffee shop I have seen successful is Storyville in Seattle

 

[jrojas576]

Thank you all for your input and suggestions, I plan on becoming the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] successful business on a second floor over time!
A bit off topic but do any of you know the basic requirements as far as equipment to bake in the shop. Just came to mind and researching it even if I don’t do it could never hurt!

 

[jrojas576]

I will baking very lightly in a convection oven since most of the edible items will be catered, and I do have a very good background with pastries using cookie dough and brownie mix as well as Guatemalan pastries since I was born and raised there for a good part of my life and learned from my parents and family who ran bakery shops.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

You want to minimize cooking at your coffee shop. I do light bake. I started with small 400 dollar oven at my first shop and grew out of it within 6 months and ended up putting 2000 dollar commercial oven. Also it might be wise to give a visit to some restaurant equipment store. You might get some different ideas. There are ovens now you can cook different items in 1-3 mins. lol I was blown away. They are expensive but it might be good investment down the road. Also you will get great advise if you are planning on serving some food..... good luck

 

[JohnD18]

Sounds like you have a pretty great opportunity going there. You may want to find a local bakery who could supply you at the right price. Less fussing around with all the baking nonsense in such a small space, more room for displaying and serving up good coffee.

 

[coco]

Two cents here......I can't imagine a second story tiny place working very well. Location, location location is for a reason. People are strange creatures, and I feel will not jog on up there for a cup of joe, no matter how good it is.

Caveat is if you sink very few dollars in, then when (if) it flops, you will have spend a little dough for a lot of experience.

 

[thCapn]

Locating in close proximity to a large retailer is almost always advantageous, provided you're selling products that particular demographic values. Walmart customers will likely want flavored lattes and small baked goods. I doubt you'd sell much whole bean coffee unless your price is low.

With such a small space, I recommend pre-baked and prepared foods, unless you're going to bake off site.

 

[jrojas576]

Thank you guys, baking has moved down my list for the moment since I will more than likely be catering so I can focus my attention to aquitaine a PROPER location, I rather drop money in and have a very good chance in thriving than taking a random risk since it's free. I'm in Downey so I'm trying to find something relatively close and it's turning out to be quite the mission!

 

[PinkRose]

I'm glad you're reconsidering your original plan and exploring other options. I hope you find a location that's perfect for your needs.