Opening a coffee shop

No problem NYS8OFMIND. I'm sure Linda will be a wealth of information. She and her daughter own and operate this location. They are both super people, and I speak with her at least once a week. If you speak with her be sure to mention my name to her (Sean). That may open the door a little wider for you :lol: And be sure to have her make you a drink. She's pretty darn good at it.
 
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About the question of needing experience... 
No matter if you do a crash course or not, making expresso coffee is an art that can take years to perfect. There are so many things that can only be learnt on the job nd if you start a buisiness with not much experience then people will not return to your shop after their first visit. To open a buisiness where the reputation is earnt by people's first visit you must have everything perfect when the shop first opens!


Although I tend to agree with you, there is part of me that doesn't,
Starbucks has the worse tasting coffee besides McDonalds and yet people (not me though) still go to both Starbucks and McDonald's and drink it.
I think if you have a mediore tasting cup of coffee but a great atmosphe that is what will decide whether people will return or not.

charles
 
Careful, I wouldn't say, "I think if you have a mediore tasting cup of coffee but a great atmosphe that is what will decide whether people will return or not. "


Because if there is any competition in the area with better tasing coffee, better baristas, and better customer service, you have just sank your business. Some people will go out of their way to find a better cup of coffee, even if its a mile further down the road. The only way I would agree with your senerio (I can't believe I'm saying this), is if you are the only game in town. And if that were the case, I would look to put a location close to your business to test your theory :D
 
K. I have a 2 group ibitty, and LOVE it! I roast, I never was in the buizz.but with a auto tamper, ibitty auto, and roasing...hehe This buizz rocks. I'm in Skagit valley and I love to share. Stop by Northwest Java, on SR 20. my shop has been open since 1/1/04 and I have alot of lessons learned thus far. to share...
 
:) Grovie,

How large is your hometown? I am in the process of doing exactly what you want to do....we will be the only game in town and I am counting on atmosphere/ambience to overcome my inexperience with espresso although I plan to learn all I can about brewing GOOD espresso. I My customers will be aware of this from the start.....being in a VERY small rural town I think the atmosphere is what will keep us going and the gourmet coffees will be secondary......Are you planning to serve anything besides coffee? After canvassing our area I made the decision to expand into offering sandwiches/soups/salads/desserts as well.....we are the only food source on the town square and I'm counting on the lunch crowd from the courthouse and businesses on the square to keep us afloat the first year or so. In another year or two we will be on the main path to a new camping area going in about 30 minutes away so the entire community is expecting a lot of tourist trade....thus, we will offer entertainment in the evenings on a regular basis.

Good luck and follow your dreams....if you truly want something you CAN do it!
 
One thing that Starbucks did right was to set the pace. Starbucks hit like gangbusters (after 14 years of strictly roasting their beans). They were quickest on the scene and set the flavor and media program for gourmet coffee. Those poor, unfortunately souls who don't know what really excellent coffee tastes like. HE HE HE
 
Hello Everyone!

First, Thank you so much for your responses! You guys are truly a wealth of information! Grovie has asked alot of important questions! Bravo!

Second, I, too, am in the same boat as Grovie - looking to start my own Coffee Bar. Right now, I am doing as much research as I can, as far learning building regulations, ordinances, etc. along with how to run a Coffee business. I live in a city called Crestwood, outside of Louisville, KY which is expanding because of people that are moving out the "big city".

There is an opportunity to build and grow this or a Coffee Bar in this area, if I'm quick enough. My concern is that Starbucks is probably looking in this area too and will jump on it soon enough!

How do you guys compete with Starbucks, or others? Do you let it slow you down?

Thank you for your comments (and your wisdom!)

--david :grin:
 
Experience neccessary?

Well I'd say that previous experience is helpful, but not neccessary. Passion on the other hand is crucial.

My personal experience -

My wife and I just opened our first Coffee Bar, Muddy Waters Coffee Bar, in Charleston, SC a little over three weeks ago. Neither of us had pervious coffee industry or barrista experience before we decided to open an espresso bar. We both loved coffee though, and knew what great espresso drinks should taste like.

Before we opened we did some 'crash course' training with our roaster (Counter Culture out of North Carolina - a great outfit!) and my wife 'volunteered' at a local independent coffee shop for three weeks to get some hands on experience. We do things completely different from the cafe' she voluntered at, but just having here get used to the work flow and pace of business helped alot.

That was enough to get us started, the rest we're learning hour by hour, day by day and so far things are going pretty well for us. I know not every drink is made to perfection (which bugs the hell out of me since I'm a bit of a perfectionist), but we are committed to constant improvement and truely want to be the best. We will get there!

So, don't let your lack of experience scuttle your dream if you really love coffee, love people and don't mind working 7 days a week! :D

Oh yeah, no matter how well you try to forecast profit margins, traffic, cost and time to get the business up and running, etc....all of it turns out to simply be wild guesses once you get open!

George Worthington
Owner - Muddy Waters Coffee Bar
1739 Maybank Highway
Charleston, SC 29412
http://www.muddywaterscoffee.com (not up yet)
 
your right

learning the coffee end of things can be done before you open, learning the basics for espresso and choosing good coffee can be learned in a relatively short time to get open. All of us who have opened shops had to learn "coffee" at some point. The perfection comes everyday day after day.

The one thing some people forget is that it is a business, have great coffee but don't forget its a business!
 
Info very helpful...

Your information is very helpful and I enjoy learning from your experience. Do you guys every worry about the competition, especially Starbucks? If so, how do you deal with them?

Thanks!

--david :grin:
 
we never worry about starbucks

My friends laugh at me because they know how bad I want to open next to starbucks and beat them.

Our third store just went head to head with Dunkin Doughnuts and bruggers bagels and beat um, it is our highest grossing store and they both had a significant drop in sales. We won't put them out of business but we can carve out a good % market share.

This is what you do: Of course I could talk about this all day:
go to starbucks or any of the chains and ask:
1. what do we like

2. what don't we like

and incorporate these answers into you business plan.
 
Re: Experience neccessary?

GeorgeW said:
Well I'd say that previous experience is helpful, but not neccessary. Passion on the other hand is crucial.

My personal experience -

My wife and I just opened our first Coffee Bar, Muddy Waters Coffee Bar, in Charleston, SC a little over three weeks ago. Neither of us had pervious coffee industry or barrista experience before we decided to open an espresso bar. We both loved coffee though, and knew what great espresso drinks should taste like.

Before we opened we did some 'crash course' training with our roaster (Counter Culture out of North Carolina - a great outfit!) and my wife 'volunteered' at a local independent coffee shop for three weeks to get some hands on experience. We do things completely different from the cafe' she voluntered at, but just having here get used to the work flow and pace of business helped alot.

That was enough to get us started, the rest we're learning hour by hour, day by day and so far things are going pretty well for us. I know not every drink is made to perfection (which bugs the hell out of me since I'm a bit of a perfectionist), but we are committed to constant improvement and truely want to be the best. We will get there!

So, don't let your lack of experience scuttle your dream if you really love coffee, love people and don't mind working 7 days a week! :D

Oh yeah, no matter how well you try to forecast profit margins, traffic, cost and time to get the business up and running, etc....all of it turns out to simply be wild guesses once you get open!

George Worthington
Owner - Muddy Waters Coffee Bar
1739 Maybank Highway
Charleston, SC 29412
http://www.muddywaterscoffee.com (not up yet)
Click to expand...

GeorgeW is absolutely right. And hook up with a good roaster is really important.
 
Materials and Supplies

Thank you for the info!

Question: When you all started, how did you know what materials (Blenders, Espresso machines, grinders, etc.) and Supplies (Coffee, cups, lids, etc.) to get? I am going through that process now -- trying to determine what items I need for the coffee bar - sort of like putting together an inventory list for my Business Plan.

Also, I know that I can learn from your successes (and mistakes!). If you can, please advise -- I can use all the advise that you have to offer!

Thank you!

--david :-D
 
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