Designing the perfect coffee shop and café operation

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1 Designing the perfect coffee shop and café operation Creating the perfect location that will turn a space into a thriving business is any operator s dream. The interior design agency or appointed architect (if structural work is required) that will be working with you on delivering your vision should become part of your project team to ensure the contract is delivered on time and meets with your expectations in terms of quality and budget. Finding a suitable location Work out your offer, your concept, what you can afford and who you are going to appeal to. What applies to an operator of a chain such as Cafe Nero maybe very different to that of an independent small trader particularly if geared to producing fresh food prepared on site. Areas of consideration when looking for a suitable site: 1. Look out for visibility, is it a corner shop with side entrance that would provide high impact on both sides of the street. 2. Is there any outside seating available or the potential to place extra tables and chairs outside to maximise your revenue. Consider if the building is facing south and how much sun the area is likely to get during the day. If you want to use paving space out front for seating do check with your local council regarding what you are allowed to do. 3. Is the site located on a square or in a park where you may be restricted by opening hours, passing trade or seasonal trends. 4. Is it on a high street, close to large office buildings where other coffee shop operators or retailers are located as this may affect your success. 5. Are you looking to set up your business in a retail or shopping mall environment. 6. Are you looking for a site with a natural high foot fall such as a tourist area, high street or retail shopping centre, place of interest, near a football ground, theatre or within a conference centre. 7. Don t ignore the local competition including smaller operators and assess if your offer is complementary to theirs or directly competing. 8. Check for parking facilities, accessibility and visibility of your future café. 9. Have an idea of the size of the site you are looking for, the number of seats required to achieve you business model, the type of food offer and the desired style in order to visualise how it will fit into the locality as well as considering the growth potential. 10. Consider the rent and the cost of the premium including the duration of the lease to ensure your figures stack up. 11. Double check disability access, steps into the shop, the ability to alter or change the front door if necessary do not close your business to a whole cross section of potential customers just because they can t access you easily, e.g.: elderly or mum and parents with buggies. 12. Visit as many sites as you can before making up your mind.

2 Starting the design process - putting your ideas on paper. Remember to keep in mind who you are aiming to appeal to - your vision. The design process should take into account how your coffee shop will look from the outside, what you are communicating to your customers right from the outset, the layout inside to what you will sell. First impressions are very important, think about the coffee shop experience and how it will provide your future customers with the unique blend of a bustling establishment fused with the smell of great coffee and freshly baked delicious pastries served by engaging staff. Getting your vision down on paper will help you turn it into a construction plan, with visuals and clear instructions that can be clearly relayed to builders and shop fitters. Before meeting up with the interior design agency or architect to discuss the project, prepare a detailed brief of what you want to achieve and what you are likely to need. It should include your concept or theme and the food offer as this will help formulate the design style of the site, determining the equipment and the layout of your counters, the self service areas to where the toilets, the kitchen and washing up area will be situated, including lights and possible merchandising space. A good brief will help you save valuable time and money, not having to waste it on design amendments and lengthy meetings. Define the scope of the work involved; it will help you to allocate clear responsibilities to the project team, designer, builders and shop fitters and avoid possible omissions. Cover any site specifics, such as any business constraints, utilities, waste or the possible requirement for a hood extraction if you are planning cooking on site. Finding and choosing a suitable interior design agency or architect practice Ensure that they have previous experience, if possible with some understanding of operational considerations. Ask to see previous projects and do not hesitate to speak to a client who has used the contractor before. You must be totally comfortable with the people that are going to be potentially assigned to your project. Once appointed, you should expect, your contractor to carrying out a site survey, although the process can start with your site plan (CAD drawing) if a building site. If you are project managing the work yourself consider putting together a mobilisation plan or alternatively, if budget allows appoint a project manager that will provide you with the expertise and support that will help you with the delivery of your project. Most interior design agencies and architects will offer a fully or part managed project management service. The services they provide can cover sketches, CAD drawings, 3D visuals, installation, planning permission, look into building regulations, light and electrical planning, selecting equipment and furniture, managing the build, creating the branding and signage this will depend on your budget and requirements. What ever the route you take, ensure that you get your landlord s permission for any modifications, and consult with the local authority / council for planning consent on exterior changes and signage, as your location and type of the building may have restrictions. Be clear with your contractors what you can afford and how the project management will work. Always keep a check on expenditure to make sure that your business is not a lost concern before the doors even open.

3 Look to include in your CAD drawings, all the equipment, furniture, electrics, water, waste, phone lines, PDQ machine provision, IT connections and so on. All of which the agency and shop fitters will help you to plan. You will need to be involved with this process so the plans are signed off before work begins. Request your contractor(s) to provide you with risk assessments and method of work before the work begins as well as a copy of their liability insurance. Layout and customer flow Be practical without compromising on your offer and styling. The worst thing for customers is to find it difficult to get to the seating area without obstacles or to having difficulty working out the food offering and product pricing. Good coffee shop design will "filter" your customers into a natural path. This is crucial to your success so appointing the right designer with expertise in this area to guide you is critical. Ensure that the design makes for a bit of theatre by locating the service counter and coffee machine in a visible area, where the customer can watch. This provides entertainment for those waiting and they are able to see how the flow is working, who is being served, when it will be their turn and when it is they get to choose the finishing touches (chocolate on top, extra milk, etc). This allows for staff and customers to engage and builds rapport that in turn will create loyal customers who enjoy your service. On a practical note, staff need to have room to move round each other frequently. This will provide an efficient service, improving speed of service and safety. It also gives them that little bit of extra time to chat to the customers and the opportunity to up sell. Be innovative and create a niche product There are two key elements to the styling of your coffee shop - the use of colour and how you use branding in your fixtures and fittings. Colours and Materials The choice of colours will affect the mood of your establishment. Using bright colours will add energy, but can also have a cooling effect. Dark colours will tend to deliver the opposite. Colour will help you define your theme and your final decision will make your coffee shop design unique and create the cafe's identity. To help you with making a final decision, your designer will guide you through this process, selecting the materials and finishes and preparing a mood board to help you appreciate textures, style and true colour matches with variable options to choose from. A mood board would typically include: Swatches of fabrics Flooring samples Paint finishes 3D visuals

4 Check the fire rating of materials and fabrics used for your soft seating, and ensure the flooring complies with anti slip surface regulations for public places. Keep in mind that digital presentations will alter depending on your pc or laptop calibration, so get your supplier to provide samples to ensure everything meets your expectations. Use good quality fabric, furniture and finishes Consider decorative elements that will enhance the theme of your business. Select the fabric and furniture to reflect your concept and branding and ensure that they are for commercial use. Consider the furnishings you'll use. Stools and tables, small couches, and an area for customers with laptops are all practical design elements. Be sure to include an Internet hook-up options in your design. Do not compromise on equipment that is important to the performance of your business as this is false economy in the long run and hinders your offering. Ensure that the fabrics and materials suggested comply with legislative requirements, if unsure request your supplier to supply a fire classification of construction product and building specification. Consider providing your employees with a staff uniform. It provides a constant reminder to your customers of your brand conveying key messages, identifying personnel such as managers, baristas and floor staff and ensuring that all staff look professional, clean and smart in your coffee shop. Name tags have a 10% customer satisfaction improvement when used. Lighting Lighting should be considered a sales tool in a cafe environment. It can be used to entice customers into the cafe, lead them through merchandising areas, call attention to specific products, and lead customers through the transaction process, all the while enhancing the customer experience. In all cases, the lighting should help communicate your offer from the outside in providing customers with the perception of "this store is for me". Lighting can also help communicate the quality of the products inside, the price point and the type of service they can expect. From 2010, 75% of all new lighting needs to be energy efficient. Current UK building regulations state (in part L1 of the regulations) says that a certain number of dedicated low energy light fittings must be installed with certain rules applying to "new build" for commercial properties. These fittings must have integrated ballasts within the fitting to ensure only low energy bulbs can be replaced (thus stopping the installation of standard, non-efficient, incandescent lamps in to the lamp holders). Check the Building regulations regarding the Low Energy Lights for commercial property.

5 Customer toilets and disability access Allow sufficient space, ease of opening and closing doors and with disabled toilets be aware to meet with Disability compliance. Choose neutral colours if you regularly have to give it a fresh coat of paint. Tiling the toilet area can create a clean and tidy environment, which can easily be maintained. There are many different approaches you can take to tiling your toilets from simple measures of splash backs against the sinks, to part or full tiling. There are wide ranges of tile sizes and designs, along with a variety of coloured grout that can add a different feel to the total look of your bathroom. If you can, box in unsightly pipes behind a cabinet and establish a cleaning rota to ensure your toilets are checked and cleaned regularly. Check soap dispensers are full and toilet paper are in supply with the hand dryer in good working order. Remember that the state and cleanliness of your toilets are a sure sign of a well run establishment that cares about its customers and sets the standard throughout the whole operation. Consider an automatic wall mounted air freshener if your budget allows. Kitchen, washing up and work space for staff If space allows, create a working space for your staff, somewhere to clear and clean dishes away from customer sight and also for storing disposable items and chemicals. Before you open your coffee shop have the local health & safety officer visit your premises as this will avoid potential issues managing your food and safety legal requirements. Some local councils implement a Score on the Door policy and you need to be aware of the implications should you not meet the minimum standard required by law. Branding Creating a distinctive perception in the mind of your customer is what you should aim for. A brand will provide a unique business identity with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. Creating a brand will help you in building reputation and good will. It's hard for customers to go back to that What s its name coffee shop". Reinforcing the identity of the cafe with branding 'identifiers' will help your customers keep your company name in their minds so that they can act as your ambassadors and tell others about you 'by name'. Identifiers not only include the napkin with your logo on it but more importantly remembering the taste of your food and quality coffee is what really makes up your brand. When customers have a positive experience, they're more likely to buy that product or service again than going to the competitor and your brand identity will help to create and anchor such customer loyalty. Consider your future customers traveling a few miles at their own expense to come and enjoy your great coffee and purchase your food - that's loyalty. If you are looking to roll out your cafe concept, a well-established brand can help you spread the respect you've earned and more easily win acceptance of a newcomer. Although you must invest

6 money to create a brand, once it's created you can maintain it without having to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. Signage and tariff boards You should aim to have eye-catching signage, tariff boards and point of sale materials. They come in a wide range of materials from stainless steel, vinyl, wood, metal to more contemporary finishes. Be very clear about your non verbal communication when using signage, menus and tariff boards to deliver key messages on your offer, the range of products on sale, special offers and above all informing customers of your pricing structure. Consider placing an A board / frame outside the cafe that can be used to market a special offer, a new product or the launch of a new coffee blend. Change the content regularly to reflect the different services, breakfast offer, lunch time meal deal or afternoon coffee special. Place the tariff boards about the service areas where they can easily be seen and ensure that the font size and style are user friendly, readable, and clear. Tariff boards must be easy to read. Complicated and fussy explanations will only hinder the offer and do not improve your sales. The choosing to buying process must be quick and efficient. Look to incorporate ticket holders, price labeling for shelf strips and branding for menu holders and menu paper. The right design with good signage can help your business stand out from the competition, increasing your turnover whilst re-enforcing your brand to keep customers coming back. Benefits of good signage: 1. Gets your message across 2. Puts you in a class above your competitors 3. Creates top-of-the-mind public awareness 4. Provides good branding opportunities 5. Grabs the attention of passers-by enabling a quick launch of a marketing campaign or new location 6. Enables you to take advantage of high traffic by making your coffee shop more visible Snag Lists Before completion, carry out a site inspection and put together a snag list for any outstanding work not completed to your specification and brief. This document will help you tick and verify outstanding items as they are being fixed. Implement a final payment policy on completion of all work including snags.

7 Making your coffee shop a place to enjoy Success does not come without passion and a great deal of hard work - understanding your cost to profit ratio and managing your people well. Invest in your staff and carry out regular training sessions covering how to make great coffee, up selling techniques, product positioning, customer care and how to get your marketing plan and offers working for you and your customers. Above all enjoy the process, the end result will be highly satisfying and the beginning of your future success. To receive a FREE copy of our project mobilisation and work plan or need further information on cafe design and how to transform your coffee shop into a successful business, contact Marcell Rizza, Director at Tastemodern on or marcell.rizza@tastemodern.com to share your coffee shop experience.