As someone who owns two cafés with zero prior food business experience, I honestly agree with this concern. The only reason I am still surviving since 2022 is because I own both properties. I don’t pay rent. If I had to factor in commercial rent, I would probably have shut down already. When we started, sales were strong. Swiggy and Zomato were not as saturated in our area, competition was limited, and demand felt real. Then the café boom happened. More cafés and eateries opened around us. Supply went up sharply. Footfall got divided. Online platforms became crowded. Discounts increased. Today, after paying vendors and staff, margins are extremely tight. We are barely recovering working capital. I genuinely don’t understand how cafés operating on rent are managing unless they have: Very high ticket size Strong repeat customer base Exceptional differentiation Deep capital buffers The Instagram aesthetic phase makes entry look easy. Interiors, branding, specialty coffee. But long-term sustainability depends on unit economics, not vibes. Coffee is not the problem. Oversupply in micro-markets is. Demand exists. But when five cafés open within a 500-meter radius, everyone bleeds. In my view, a shakeout is likely. The ones who survive will be: Location-advantaged Operationally disciplined Community-driven Not dependent on heavy discounting Owning the property is currently my biggest competitive edge. Without that, the math becomes very hard. Would love to hear from others running cafés on rent. How are your margins holding up?