With the growing popularity of outside events, it’s common for small food businesses to provide seating for customers and looking beyond white plastic to something more stylish will give you an easy win against your competitors. Our café and bistro furniture will provide a welcome respite to festival goers and farm show visitors looking to relax and enjoy the food and beverages you offer, whether it’s sophisticated international cuisine, cream teas, or fast food. Is Bistro furniture suitable for Coffee Shops? Preferences – if your cafe has a strong theme or concept, then this will likely define your core customers based on their preferences towards that theme. For instance, a dog-friendly cafe will be looking to attract dog lovers almost exclusively. Once you have decided what types of food and drink your cafe will be selling, you can start thinking about designing and creating your menu. Remember, your cafe menu does not necessarily need to be a small booklet that customers leaf through while sat at a table. If you want to open a ‘grab and go’ style coffee shop, then your menu could be displayed entirely on large boards above the counter. Though a relatively old advertising technique, posters and flyers can still be effective in marketing your coffee shop – especially if you have a new product or promotion that you want people to know about. Even something as simple as handing out flyers with a free drink offer can work wonders, as it helps people cross the threshold of your business for the first time. After they have been once, they are much more likely to come a second and third time – providing the experience was positive. It’s no secret that starting your own business will cost money. Calculating the total amount of money needed, and what it will be spent on, is often one of the most intimidating tasks for an entrepreneur to carry out.

As you can see, the potential variety of products on a cafe’s menu spans a wide range. You’ll have to make a number of decisions about what types of product you want your business to sell, as well as consider the implications that selling certain products may bring – for example a licence to sell alcohol. Different products will have different profit margins, and this is important to bear in mind, too. Our ultimate guide to running a cafe will take you through the process of planning to start a new cafe - and the steps needed to actually open it. At this stage, you will also need to consider the logistics of actually running your cafe, for example:

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Furniture and wares– your cafe’s tables, chairs, cutlery and even cups and saucers should all reflect the overall design and décor theme.

Again, this is a traditional, tried-and-tested marketing technique – and cafes across the UK still use it because it works. A customer loyalty scheme will help to facilitate return custom and differentiate you from competitors if you use your own unique system.

Ultimate guide to running a cafe

In the UK, we drink approximately 95 million cups of coffee per day. A relatively busy coffee shop can expect to sell around 200 hot drinks every day. Keep in mind that as you create your design team, using a restaurant kitchen design consultant with real world operating experience to develop your small cafe layout will ensure you and you staff will have the ability to literally, generate revenue on autopilot. You may also consider whether you want staff to start on quieter days, or throw them in at the deep end during your busiest periods. This decision may also depend on the amount of past experience that your prospective employees have. Disciplinary procedures