Restaurant Coffee Trends

[CoffeeJunky]

I’ve been running the numbers on a business plan for a high end small roaster, but it seems like a more stable approach would be to focus on fresh affordable good coffee rather than the highest quality. Which is a little disheartening because I got into roasting because it was the answer to the my quest of finding the best coffee for myself. Now, 7 years later I can go to the grocery store and there are 5 amazing local(ish) roasters to choose from.

I may have to rethink this a bit.


Adam,

Don't just give up on your dream.
I am just saying about restaurants owners.
There are tons of high end coffee drinkers out there.
There is a small coffee house here in Michigan opened few years ago and they are located in very high end district but they just expanded to bigger space.
They serve what I would have done with coffee house if I only had one shop....
They carry between 4-5 single origin coffee and they charge around 3.50 for single cup drip brew.
Their house blend is around 2.75 and their Espresso based drinks are about the same as others...
They sell tons of beans at their store and local specialty shops....

This is very possible business model but location and the product has to be top notch....
They have been in business for couple of years and they established as the premier coffee house in college town with about45 coffee houses... NOT TOO SHABBY...

 

[cotatiadam]

Thanks CoffeeJunky,
I was just trying to just have a roast shop and not serve drinks, but it's looking like it's the best way to go.

 

[John P]

Adam,

The smaller you are, the more you need a distinct differentiator, and the single best way to create your own niche and to remain profitable (when you are small) is to have Quality as your differentiator. From quality of beans to skill, understanding and craft as a roaster.

Average, or simply "good" coffees must be HIGH volume in order for you to compete. Unless you will be roasting 15,000 +++ pounds of coffee per month, stay out of this area. You simply can't compete.

Place yourself in a category where you have no competitors, understand coffee and business equally well, and deliver an exceptional value proposition to your customers and you will always be profitable.

... Split the difference, and do a roast shop with daily (scheduled) coffee and espresso tastings to help promote What you roast, How you roast, and Why it's better than A, B, and C. This will give your customers greater insight to what you offer.

And in the SF area, there are a very small number of excellent roasters for the population. (Ritual, Wrecking Ball, Four Barrel, Blue Bottle and possibly Sightglass) Find a neighborhood that doesn't have one, and BE that one. SF should have 10 to 15 excellent coffee shops/roasters. There's plenty of room for more.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

SF is i would say 3-4th biggest market in US... Second to NYC for most densely populated city in US. It would be unfair to compare small city to SF... In my opinion...

Adam,
You don't have to have fancy coffee house in your shop.
It could be used bar counter from the close bar and basic coffee equipment is all you need.
Some tables and chairs....
If you try to compete with the big coffee houses, it will be hard but if you just offer great coffee and place to come, I would say it will sell.. just don't spend all your money on decoration...

Good luck

 

[cotatiadam]

Thanks for all the input. I think i'm getting ahead of myself, but a place to do cuppings and have education was always in the plan. I'm actually just north of SF about 20 min. But it's just discouraging to see 4barrel, Verve, ritual all at the local Whole foods.

But I do believe what you all have been saying otherwise I would not be considering it. I've been working with the local small business development center to help with a business plan and running the numbers. I'll keep you all posted.

I love how I hijacked this post

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I think most of us are very passionate about coffee and our business. If you have the business for past 4-5 and still going strong, you have good recipe for your business. We all like to know what others are doing and how they are making it so we can improve our business. If you are sitting still. you are bound to fail soon in the future. I hope our drive, passion and love for our coffee could one day bring us the dreams to reality some day.....

 

[JRMobile]

This isn't necessarily a direct answer to your question but just some thoughts to keep in mind. Basically, people don’t ever buy products so I would encourage you to stand back a little bit from your process of want to sell coffee from restaurants and think about the experience that you are providing. But more importantly, think about the experience that the restaurant owner has.

The one very essential concept to think about is that you have to understand the conversation that is going on in your customer’s mind (what is the experience they are having, what are the facets that is going to their head, how is your experience fit in to their). It may have nothing to do with the details that you are thinking of right now, but you may be able to find a place where your experience is far superior to the experience they’re having.

You’ll find what you think of the process, and this way, it has absolutely nothing to do with price. So, those are just some thoughts to be considered.

- transcribed and posted for Joseph @ JR Mobile by Marky

 

[pepeng]

Hi All,

I am embarking on starting a small roaster with some friends. Our goal is to sell into restaurants and build custom coffee programs for them. We are small enough where we can give individual attention to each account, and able to scale enough to handle a handful or two accounts total.

As we get started, I wanted to start a discussion around restaurant coffee. Are there trends any other roasters are seeing? What is the best approach to starting the conversation with owners? Any insights you all have from past experience...

Any thoughts are welcome and I would love to hear any success stories, and failures as I get this ship moving.

Last week i visit Bali. i visit caffee "kopi Kultur" in krobokan bali.
i order a coffee, and the owner come to me...
He tell me about coffee, history of coffee and the process coffee .
i come to coffee, not just drink a coffee, but know about the history, about the process.