Camaro68
Bronze Contributor
I dont want to discourage you from your dream, so take these comments with a grain of salt. I think it would be very difficult to distinguish yourself from the hundreds of other competitors.
When I think of opening a coffee shop, I think of, how will I beat the other guy. Two main methods come to mind, and that's about it because lets face it, there are a ton of cool places to hang out that serve pretty good coffee and have great ambiance full of attractive people.
1. Location: I think this is a huge make or break deal. Are you near a college campus? Heavy foot traffic? These spots usually demand higher rents, but if you're planning on opening a coffee shop off the beaten path I'd be very careful. You can have a mediocre coffee shop in a great location and still do ok, you can have a great coffee shop in a terrible location and never make it.
2. Quality: This is a tough one. I've been to both Paris and Italy and I love the coffee, I don't think Starbucks is anything special, in fact I think its mediocre coffee branded well and priced at a super premium. However, people love it, they pay for it, and they snap instagram pics of the cups for their friends to see, its a cultural thing. Plenty of people couldn't tell the difference between genuinely GOOD/GREAT coffee and downright terrible coffee. In fact I bet in a blind taste test you could probably make a cup of instant coffee and a cup of fresh roasted organic blah blah and I bet you'd be surprised at what most people picked that they like. The only people that are going to care about your "Authentic machines" and best practices are going to be the extreme coffee aficionados, similar to the craft beer crowd today. Does the area have a high population of these types of people? Are there forums/clubs that you can attract these people to your shop? Most people cant tell the difference between regular gas station coffee and the craft coffee, and that's the honest truth, so if your competitive advantage is that you will have a better quality product, I would worry.
It sounds like you want a traditional coffee shop, paying homage to the old ways, old country. That's fine and sounds cool, a place I would probably check out, but most customers wouldn't go out of their way to go there I don't think because they don't differentiate between regular and actually good or great coffee.
When I think of opening a coffee shop, I think of, how will I beat the other guy. Two main methods come to mind, and that's about it because lets face it, there are a ton of cool places to hang out that serve pretty good coffee and have great ambiance full of attractive people.
1. Location: I think this is a huge make or break deal. Are you near a college campus? Heavy foot traffic? These spots usually demand higher rents, but if you're planning on opening a coffee shop off the beaten path I'd be very careful. You can have a mediocre coffee shop in a great location and still do ok, you can have a great coffee shop in a terrible location and never make it.
2. Quality: This is a tough one. I've been to both Paris and Italy and I love the coffee, I don't think Starbucks is anything special, in fact I think its mediocre coffee branded well and priced at a super premium. However, people love it, they pay for it, and they snap instagram pics of the cups for their friends to see, its a cultural thing. Plenty of people couldn't tell the difference between genuinely GOOD/GREAT coffee and downright terrible coffee. In fact I bet in a blind taste test you could probably make a cup of instant coffee and a cup of fresh roasted organic blah blah and I bet you'd be surprised at what most people picked that they like. The only people that are going to care about your "Authentic machines" and best practices are going to be the extreme coffee aficionados, similar to the craft beer crowd today. Does the area have a high population of these types of people? Are there forums/clubs that you can attract these people to your shop? Most people cant tell the difference between regular gas station coffee and the craft coffee, and that's the honest truth, so if your competitive advantage is that you will have a better quality product, I would worry.
It sounds like you want a traditional coffee shop, paying homage to the old ways, old country. That's fine and sounds cool, a place I would probably check out, but most customers wouldn't go out of their way to go there I don't think because they don't differentiate between regular and actually good or great coffee.
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