As with any business, there are many pitfalls and risks in opening your own café. Not only do you have to prioritize everything from creating your menu and your future marketing concept, but you also have to keep in mind the complexities of managing your staff and negotiating with vendors. If this sounds complicated to you, try considering buying an existing business. Before you open your cafeteria, you need to decide – are you ready to “live” in your establishment for the next few years?
Decide on the main product that you will offer the customer. If it will be sushi – go to the sushi courses, try to work in the kitchen from the inside. Want to open a coffee shop? Learn how to brew coffee so you can better supervise your staff and have hands-on experience to motivate your employees.
Evaluate what products and equipment you will need, look closely at suppliers, and find your unique selling proposition to attract as many customers as possible. All of this should be thought about before you even open your establishment.
The concept is not only the interior design of the cafe or the choice of cuisine. You have to think about the image of your place: staff’s communication with visitors and the overall impression of staying in your cafe. So that people leave you not only fed, but also satisfied with the fact that they spent their free time in a sincere and unobtrusive atmosphere.
Create your story, which will be traced through everything: design, staff, cuisine, marketing solutions, special services (like take-away and take-away). For example, if you made a cafe in the style of a sunken pirate ship: offer 13 rum-based cocktails at the bar, make the menu in the form of a treasure map, put barrels instead of tables, bonus cards on “black marks”, dress the waiters with blindfolds, etc. Summer cafe, vegan cafe, family cafe – there are many concepts, the choice is yours.
Café concept – the idea, the prototype, the structure of the organization and development of the institution. Gives an idea about the final goal and how to achieve it, describes the planning, structure and functionality. Development of the concept of a cafe based on market research and market analysis, step by step coordinates the activities of the participants in the process, allowing to get the product that was conceived, and to recoup the investment.
Working idea
When a client wants to open a family eatery or art cafe, it’s an idea or a hypothesis. It will be tweaked more than once, but it will kick-start process chains and design decisions, positioning strategies and advertising programs.
Location and visitors
Leading neighborhood sites, competitors, threats to business development and the flow of people passing within the establishment’s radius are identified. Which customer groups will be major and which will be additive? Situations in which people decide to come here, their lifestyle, income level and interests are considered.
Name and menu
Signage identifies the cafe among others and attracts visitors. The price category, current market offerings and menu are taken into account – recommendations are given for the number of dishes, sections and prices, promotions and discounts.
Current market conditions, location, kitchen capabilities, growing trends, and staff qualifications are taken into consideration when compiling the list of dishes and beverages. Seasonal (Lenten), vegetarian, children’s and author’s menus are considered.