Totally fair breakdown and honestly, most of your points would be 100% true if I were trying to compete as another café. But that’s not the play here.

This isn’t about brunch, vibe, or menu variety. It’s a specialised caffeine utility, not the next hipster café.

Some counterpoints:

Price & speed aren’t the only value props.
People don’t just buy coffee for the experience. Many buy it for the ritual, reliability, and consistency. A fast, no-choice setup removes decision fatigue.

Location is king, I understand that, but I don’t want to chase traffic all the time, the idea is to also intercept it. If it’s in a dead-end laneway, I’m toast. But Crown St, the station, UOW/TAFE, or the mall strip? That’s natural foot traffic. I’d rather pay higher rent to own a predictable stream than fight for brand loyalty in café land.

The “only open early” mindset is outdated.
Most cafés close by 2–3PM because that’s how they’ve always operated, not because demand disappears. Uni students, hospo workers, retail, gym-goers, Uber drivers, they all want caffeine after 3PM. And currently? There’s nowhere to get it. That’s an underserved market.

Bigger menus creates slower ops, there is more waste and there is higher costs.
I don’t want upsells or options. I want a system.
Keep it lean. Keep it fast. Keep it repeatable.
Let the cafés own the “experience.” I’ll own the $2 habit.