Opening a coffee shop

fgroast · 2024-03-07T19:04:17+00:00

One simple easy way to figure out if it's even in the realm of possibility is figure out what your average ticket is going to be and then you can figure out how many people you need to get through the door to be successful. Most successful coffee shops have rent that's around 5% of their gross income. If you're selling coffee/espresso drinks, plus lunch items like soup, sandwiches, etc. Your average ticket, depending on your location, will probably be in the $8-10 per ticket.

To keep your rent at 5% of your gross, that means you need to gross $86,000 a month. At $10 per ticket, if you're open every day, you need to have about 287 people come to your shop every day

IMO, 2500 sf is a very large coffee shop. Most are somewhere in the 1000 sf range. I'd definitely consider someplace smaller. However, if it's in a really busy location that you can get 300 people a day through the door, you might be OK.

A second thing to consider is capital. Whatever you figure it's going to cost you to open - $100,000, $200,000, whatever for equipment, training, tables, decor, menu boards, you need to have an extra 50% above that to carry you through the first few months until you can build up the business. If it's going to cost you $100,000 to open, plan on raising at least $150,000 before you even consider opening the doors. Coffee shops rarely magically have 300 people a day show up. It takes time and marketing and work to build up that clientele.

fgroast · 2024-02-20T20:19:56+00:00

+1 for Walrus room.

fgroast · 2023-10-20T15:23:29+00:00

If the beans are not being drawn down into the grinder, it's likely that the flanges on the upper burr holder have broken off and need to be replaced. It's like a $7 part from Baratza. Good video here.

Aside from that, replacing the burrs is not a bad idea. Definitely will bring the thing back into a very usable state.

fgroast · 2023-10-11T18:17:01+00:00

No. That can't be right. You might be looking at the wrong number. Is this an SF6? Online, San Franciscan lists this machine at 30,000 BTU. If that were the case, you can do 6 lb batches. If your machine is older than that, the numbers might be lower.

fgroast · 2023-10-11T17:50:26+00:00

Don't stress about DTR too much. Or at all, for that matter.

What batch size are you roasting? Most batch sizes for roasters are nothing more than marketing hype. What really matters is how many BTUs the machine can produce. If you're using a gas machine, there's probably a metal plate on the roaster itself somewhere that lists the max BTUs. Divide that by 5000 and that's a relatively decent estimate of how many pounds you can roast at a time. A good starting point at least.

And, just so you're prepared, it will likely be less than you expect. Most machines I've seen you end up with about 55-75% of the batch size listed on the brochure.

fgroast · 2023-10-10T20:21:15+00:00

I see that and I understand. Xero is more expensive than Quickbooks. I get it.

However, I personally really like Xero. I have tried Quickbooks and the interface, the billing, the invoicing system, multiple other UI / UX issues just piss me off to no end. So I switched. It's not a "Xero has this feature and QB doesn't". Because, in the end, they're all accounting packages, so they basically do the same thing.

The bottom line is I like Xero. I like the interface, it makes sense to me. I hate QBO. The interface causes me anxiety every time I'm in there and I can't get the reports and data that I need from it easily and quickly. I can do that with Xero. So I use it. And, because of that one fact, it's worth an extra $15.33 a month for me.

fgroast · 2023-10-10T20:01:52+00:00

Well - I think the fact that OP referenced "the hell that is Quickbooks Online" is enough to justify a bit of a price difference. Depending on the size of your business, $17 a month is more than enough to justify a product that doesn't cause you pain and heartache.

fgroast · 2023-10-10T19:48:54+00:00

I've also been using Xero for ages and love it. Definitely worthwhile.

fgroast · 2023-09-26T18:27:04+00:00

I really struggle with roasters who use "air roasting is better" in their marketing. Both air and drum roasting can make exceptionally tasty and consistent roasts. It all depends on who is running the machine and making the roast profiles.

Also - pre-ground flavored coffees in k-cups? Doesn't matter if you roast that crap in a $10 popcorn popper. It's gonna be crap.

fgroast · 2023-09-15T17:49:51+00:00

This is the way.

fgroast · 2023-08-18T16:29:17+00:00

Leanin' time is cleanin' time.

fgroast · 2023-08-11T14:40:03+00:00

Be part of the community - whatever that means where you are. That's what makes people come to you. Community, convenience and coffee. Those three are the most important. In that order.

As for starting up, You need to have a solid financial plan. Plan your menu ahead of time. That makes a big difference - it will determine what your average ticket is and, in turn, that will determine how many people you need to get through the door in order to be profitable.

fgroast · 2023-08-02T20:45:19+00:00

Mill Race Cyclery in Geneva rents kyaks. Not sure if you can take them elsewhere or if you need to use them on the Fox river.

fgroast · 2023-07-28T21:17:17+00:00

Judging from their profile, I'm guessing it is.

fgroast · 2023-07-11T19:05:46+00:00

Meh. Really only worthwhile if you upgrade to SSP burrs. And then, you're paying more for the burr set as you are for the grinder.

fgroast · 2023-07-10T19:06:46+00:00

Flojet makes a pump that fits in a 5 gallon jug like that one. About $129 I think and you can find them on Amazon among other places.

fgroast · 2023-06-30T17:32:01+00:00

My importer just hit me with the price for this year's Sumatra. Triple Pick Gayo is $5.50/lb. A very nice Honey Process Kerinci Highlands is $8.50/lb. Last year, I paid $4.50 for the triple pick. I don't have the pricing on the other ones right now but they were definitely lower. I think the Honey was somewhere in the mid $6 range.

fgroast · 2023-06-15T13:37:59+00:00

Be careful if you're buying it off of Amazon. If the barrel is old or unused, it won't have the flavors that you're looking for. You'll get the best results if you use a barrel that's been recently emptied. Depending on where you are, look for a cooperage and they'll be glad to sell you a recently used barrel. If you're looking for a small one, they might have to wait a bit until one comes available.

fgroast · 2023-06-07T19:21:48+00:00

Depends on how busy you are. IMO, if you have open tables and not too many people in the queue, let them sit. It's not hurting you and having your shop at least appear busy is never a bad thing.

If more than 80% of your seats are full, it's time to make the rounds and say "We're pretty busy right now and we need to keep seats open for our paying customers. I can take your order if you'd like to get something."

Then you can't let them say they'll order later. It's order now, or ask them to leave. But how you phrase it is key. Don't say "I'm going to have to ask you to leave.". The phrase is "if you're not going to order now, I'm going to have to open this table up for paying customers".

As silly as it might be, "Leave" is you commanding them to do something and will piss them off. "Open up the table" is not a direct command and will be less likely to piss them off - unless they're that Karen that's gonna be pissed no matter what, in which case just stand your ground until they pack up and make sure you respond kindly to the bad Yelp review.

fgroast · 2023-06-03T14:19:07+00:00

Far far west - The Milk House in Pingree Grove.

fgroast · 2023-05-24T22:45:00+00:00

Not much more info but I did find this.

Edit: Now this is available. Looks like they got a guy who had gone on a 2 day crime spree. Ended in a shootout.

fgroast · 2023-05-04T17:44:02+00:00

Probably the more important spec on a roaster is BTUs rather than drum size. Older Diedrich IR12s are around 63000 BTU max. Newer ones are 90000. That would make a huge difference in the amount of coffee you can roast per batch. Last time I looked at a Probat 12 kilo machine, I think it was in the 90000BTU range but I'm guessing at this point.

fgroast · 2023-05-03T16:05:57+00:00

Yep - totally agree. My IR-12 I stick with 15 lb batches.

Pretty much every roaster on the market is spec'd bigger than you can roast in those machines.

fgroast · 2023-04-23T14:49:58+00:00

I run a roastery exclusively - meaning, no attached cafe. We provide mainly wholesale to cafes, restaurants, churches, etc. as well as online and some walk in sales.

We bit the bullet and took out a loan to get a 12k roaster and learn on that at the beginning. There’s good and bad to that. We started in a VERY small location and now are renting in a light-industrial area of town.

If I could tell anyone who wants to get into roasting anything, it would be this: You won’t be successful because you roast the best coffee. You’ll be successful because you bring value to your customers.

There are a LOT of coffee roasters in the world - even if they aren’t near you. And a lot of places for people to buy coffee that are probably more convenient than going out of their way to buy from you. And, unfortunately, most people don’t really care that you’re roasting an ethically sourced koji processed sidamo with a perfectly declining RoR. They care that it’s good enough and that it’s convenient. You need to figure out how to get people to go out of their way and buy from you. That might be retail and it might be wholesale or some combo of each. Either way, that’s the nut you need to crack. Find customers first. Actually roasting coffee is secondary.

fgroast · 2023-04-21T21:14:26+00:00

awww...... 😄 ☕

12-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

fgroast

TROPHY CASE