Cocktail Lounge / Coffee House

[Raul]

We are a cocktail lounge who is going to double up as a coffee house in the morning. We actually look more like a coffee house rather than a bar. we will not sell alchoholic beverages durring the am hours as we dont want the morning drunk sitting at the bar complaining about how much his life sucks. We will be a full scale coffee and espresso bar, any advice on marketing the idea around town would be a great help as our advertising dollars are very limited. We have all the equipment and neccesary items in place we just can not afford not to have at least 100 dollars in sales, which I dont think is too much to ask.We are in a very busy part of town with no Starbuck within 10-15 miles yet anyways.

 

[schmellen]

you could have fun with the two different drugs you serve!

:twisted:
something that plays on the concept of getting you revved up then come back to calm down, the last two legal drugs, together at last, different things like that. Or play on your split personality by showing people with their split personalities-businessy in the morning, hipster at night.
good luck
JoEllen

 

[topher]

I've always liked the idea of combining a coffee shop and a bar....people used to give me a hard time saying people that don't want the bar atmosphere go to a coffee house...I hope it works out for you! I added booze tot he menu at the last place..granted it was in a casnino...it kicked ass though! We had all high end spirts, true Irish coffee, an awesome amaretto espresso and many more. keep us posted...I am interested to see how it goes for you :wink:
here are a couple of the drinks we did:

Little Italy:
Mama mia!! A shot of Sambuca with Espresso.

Irish Coffee:
Open those Irish eyes with a perfect blend of Jameson Irish Whiskey and out fresh roasted coffee topped with whipped cream.

Peppermint Patty:
A generous pour of Rumple Minze Peppermint Schnapps and steaming hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream.
French Kiss:
A wonderful blend of brandy, chocolate and our fresh roasted coffee topped with whipped cream.

Mexican Jumping Bean:
Get jumping with Kahlua, our fresh roasted coffee and topped with whipped cream.

Lucky Leprechaun:
A generous pour of Bailey’s Irish Cream and our fresh roasted coffee topped with whipped cream. Guaranteed to warm you from head to toe

 

[equus007]

bar days

used to manage a shop like this...specialized in espressso based drinks at night like the ones mentioned before...chocolate martini's were very popular as well as "dew drops" which are baerenschlager and espress(honey liquer)

 

[equus007]

also

There are also lots of people who love a couple of shots in their Guiness

 

[Muddycup]

it is not an easy sell, a bar is a bar, can it be done yes, one of our stores has a beer and wine but it is only served at night and in a seperate room.

you will have to seperate yourself in the minds of the customers, morning coffee people want there coffee to-go make sure your interior is set up for fast service an easy navigation (no bar spell from the night before)

Have a clear distinction of when the coffee house ends and the bar begins.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Yeah, good luck with that. You might call it "A shot and a shot"... :shock: I just couldn't resist... :wink:

 

[topher]

you would be suprised how many people wanted Jameson in the morning...usually they where quiet about it though...

 

[pstam]

It is not a really technical neither commercial respect.

I think, it is quite depends on the tradition of the local people. No must to do.

 

[Panini Guy]

Not to change your thinking, but for concept and execution, I'd take a look at Boston's North End for possible inspiration. Both Vittoria (the granddaddy bar/coffeehouse) and Graffiti (elements of third wave coupled with grappa) do great business.

Both are what I'd call "limited" bars - they feature what most might call cordials or apertifs primarily - you'd go there for a port/grappa, but not a cosmo or Coors Light. Both also offer Italian pastries, cannoli, etc. for dessert. Typically in North End you don't eat dessert at whatever restaurant you're at, you leave and go to one of these two places or others on a similar vein.

http://www.vittoriacaffe.com
http://www.cafegraffiti.com