almico
Member
So...I'm opening a coffee bar in a couple of months. It's going to be located in a new, indoor public food market in a very popular eastern PA tourist town. There will be 20 about vendors in phase 1 and possibly another 40 will come on board for phases 2 and 3. I will be the only coffee vendor. In town there is only SBs and DDs.
I've been roasting 4 years, working the day job M-F and then doing farmers markets on weekends, even through the winter. I don't remember my last day off. I wish I was starting this at 40 instead of 57, but you gotta dance with who brung ya.
The market is supplying the build out, including the 12 x 24' booth and all the plumbing and electric. I will be supplying the equipment. The layout has been established already, for better or worse. The rent is very reasonable and the business plans and financial spreadsheets are done. The projected numbers are very conservative and work well. My concern is not attracting customers; it is being able to keep up with the inevitable lines.
I'll be offering pre-brewed Fetco 'quick cups' for early morning commuters, individual pour overs (like at my markets) and espresso via a Victoria Arduino Athena Leva. Other menu items with be iced coffee and fresh-brewed iced tea. There will be a gluten free baker at the market, but the coordinators would like me to offer an 'extra gluten' alternative. So I've been toying around with my options. I will not be able to cook or prepare food in my booth, but I might squeeze in a toaster. I love toast with coffee. I'm also pretty good and moving bags o' beans. My revenue stream has been 60/40 beans to brewed coffee.
I've purchased a bunch of equipment already and my house and yard are looking more like Fred Sanford's every day.
The market will be open 6 days a week from 7-7pm, and vendors are asked to be open a minimum of 8 hours a day. So far it will be me and my son supplying the man hours, but I'm resigned to having to hire a couple of employees, maybe even a barista/manager.
I am not an official barista. I've never been properly trained and have learned everything I know about roasting from trial and error and info I've gleaned online. I own a Londinium lever at home and have been making my own espresso for a couple of years. I've also been making 100-120 pour overs every weekend for 3 years. My customers love my coffee and I get at least 3 or 4 "this is the best coffee I've ever had" each weekend. But I'm pretty certain I'm not prepared for the 20,000 visitors this market is likely to get the first weekend it opens. I was going to attend SCA classes at RoyalNY's new lab in NJ, but it appears they're having staffing issues and all classes have been canceled. I'm not opposed to roaster education, but I find most of it is oriented around drum roasters, and I prefer fluid bed roasted coffee.
There are many more details, but the point of this post is that I think I would like to solicit the help of a consultant and am having a hard time finding a match on the easy coast. I guess my dilemma stems from the fact that I am opening a coffee bar, but I roast my own coffee. Most coffee consulting services seem to come from roasters that want to sell roasted coffee. I have not found the same eagerness from my green bean suppliers. I clearly don't buy enough greens.
My business vision falls between the cracks. I'm a roaster that has no desire to sell wholesale and a coffee bar that doesn't buy roasted beans. I do not want to spend all my time at the roaster, or packing little boxes with coffee bags and sticking labels on them. I want to be in front of people educating them about coffee, making their day with a great brew and sharing a little conversation-connection in the process. I also want to control my product as much as possible, which is why I don't want to forgo the roasting. I love roasting. I just don't want to do it 40 hours a week.
I want to make this, as much as possible, like an authentic Italian coffee bar. The booth will have a 14' standing bar in front and a 12' sitting bar to one side. I am not going to force people to drink 7g espressos, drink them standing up and never with milk after 11am, but I will encourage them to try. I'm as Americano as they come and drank 32oz doses of coffee broth my entire life before I discovered the heavenly world of specialty coffee and it's preeminent delivery system. I would like to share that experience with whomever is willing to listen.
So...any suggestions on where I can find some help getting my new venture set up, organized and off on the right foot? I've searched many threads that say "Hire a consultant". OK...how? Where?
I've been roasting 4 years, working the day job M-F and then doing farmers markets on weekends, even through the winter. I don't remember my last day off. I wish I was starting this at 40 instead of 57, but you gotta dance with who brung ya.
The market is supplying the build out, including the 12 x 24' booth and all the plumbing and electric. I will be supplying the equipment. The layout has been established already, for better or worse. The rent is very reasonable and the business plans and financial spreadsheets are done. The projected numbers are very conservative and work well. My concern is not attracting customers; it is being able to keep up with the inevitable lines.
I'll be offering pre-brewed Fetco 'quick cups' for early morning commuters, individual pour overs (like at my markets) and espresso via a Victoria Arduino Athena Leva. Other menu items with be iced coffee and fresh-brewed iced tea. There will be a gluten free baker at the market, but the coordinators would like me to offer an 'extra gluten' alternative. So I've been toying around with my options. I will not be able to cook or prepare food in my booth, but I might squeeze in a toaster. I love toast with coffee. I'm also pretty good and moving bags o' beans. My revenue stream has been 60/40 beans to brewed coffee.
I've purchased a bunch of equipment already and my house and yard are looking more like Fred Sanford's every day.
The market will be open 6 days a week from 7-7pm, and vendors are asked to be open a minimum of 8 hours a day. So far it will be me and my son supplying the man hours, but I'm resigned to having to hire a couple of employees, maybe even a barista/manager.
I am not an official barista. I've never been properly trained and have learned everything I know about roasting from trial and error and info I've gleaned online. I own a Londinium lever at home and have been making my own espresso for a couple of years. I've also been making 100-120 pour overs every weekend for 3 years. My customers love my coffee and I get at least 3 or 4 "this is the best coffee I've ever had" each weekend. But I'm pretty certain I'm not prepared for the 20,000 visitors this market is likely to get the first weekend it opens. I was going to attend SCA classes at RoyalNY's new lab in NJ, but it appears they're having staffing issues and all classes have been canceled. I'm not opposed to roaster education, but I find most of it is oriented around drum roasters, and I prefer fluid bed roasted coffee.
There are many more details, but the point of this post is that I think I would like to solicit the help of a consultant and am having a hard time finding a match on the easy coast. I guess my dilemma stems from the fact that I am opening a coffee bar, but I roast my own coffee. Most coffee consulting services seem to come from roasters that want to sell roasted coffee. I have not found the same eagerness from my green bean suppliers. I clearly don't buy enough greens.
My business vision falls between the cracks. I'm a roaster that has no desire to sell wholesale and a coffee bar that doesn't buy roasted beans. I do not want to spend all my time at the roaster, or packing little boxes with coffee bags and sticking labels on them. I want to be in front of people educating them about coffee, making their day with a great brew and sharing a little conversation-connection in the process. I also want to control my product as much as possible, which is why I don't want to forgo the roasting. I love roasting. I just don't want to do it 40 hours a week.
I want to make this, as much as possible, like an authentic Italian coffee bar. The booth will have a 14' standing bar in front and a 12' sitting bar to one side. I am not going to force people to drink 7g espressos, drink them standing up and never with milk after 11am, but I will encourage them to try. I'm as Americano as they come and drank 32oz doses of coffee broth my entire life before I discovered the heavenly world of specialty coffee and it's preeminent delivery system. I would like to share that experience with whomever is willing to listen.
So...any suggestions on where I can find some help getting my new venture set up, organized and off on the right foot? I've searched many threads that say "Hire a consultant". OK...how? Where?
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