specifics on a coffee kiosk buisness?

[Blue Monkey Too]

What should I look for when deciding on a coffee kiosk location. Foot traffic is an obvious consideration but what else? And what do I need to do to get that location? Say it's on a college campus or in a mall or office building, who do I contact and what are the normal requirements? Is there rent involved and etc.? And finally are coffee kiosks profitable enough to provide funding (over several years) for launching into a full fledged coffee house?

 

[cafemakers]

What ended up happening to that former petshop location next to the Ben and Jerry's?

http://www.coffeeforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1613

 

[Blue Monkey Too]

believe it or not the owner of the building decided to allow another Ben and Jerry's franchise to open in the same spot. I'm still not sure what logic was used in making that decision, if any. So we will have to wait for a while until that Ben and Jerry's goes out of business (probably within two years) untill we can have another shot at it. Unless of course another Ben and Jerry's goes in (which wouldn't at all shock me at this point). So as of right now we are batting around some alternative ideas. We don't want to commit to another location because the location given to the second B&J's is such a great spot. We are thinking maybe we start small with a kiosk and build a client base, establish a reputation then take the step into a full fledged coffee house when the inevitable happens and the Ben and Jerry's that went into the exact same location of a Ben and Jerry's that just went out of business goes out of business. And so on and so forth...

 

[upnorthcoffee]

Yes a coffee kiosk can be profitable. You must stake out the location with decent traffic flow and then provide service, service, service!

There is generally rent involved because you should get some storage to go along with your cart area. What it will cost is up to you and how well you negotiate. At a minimum, set up a cart with a sink and refrigeration behind it in a locked area. Your other storage doesn't have to be as convenient as you can get it in the morning or at slow times.

As long as you don't have to pay a huge staff, yes you can use your cart as a launch pad to a shop. Expect long hours but it will be an investment of your time in a new business.