How To Pick The Best Location For A Coffee Shop

Putting an idea on paper is very easy to do. You have all of your ideas ready to go when it comes to your coffee shop including which hospitality furniture from Adage to buy and what espresso drink recipes you want to feature. Yet, actually starting up and growing your business relies on some crucial steps at the beginning of the process.

Starting a cafe is very tricky and there is a lot of competition. There are also very low-profit margins since coffee is a low-ticket item. This is why it is so important to get the location right so you can sell a lot of it. Picking out the location is not as simple as picking a spot with good foot traffic.

There are other factors that go into what makes a good location for a coffee shop. In this article, we will go over what it takes to pick out the right spot.

What are the demographics?

Who the foot traffic is in a neighborhood is more important than how much there is. This is because, in the wrong neighborhood, that foot traffic will pass on by your store. You want to target the neighborhood that gives you the best shot at attracting lots of customers.

Set aside some time and money to hire a researcher to give you the demographics of a few locations that you are thinking about. The information about who lives in a certain neighborhood and how they spend their money is available and will help you immensely.

You can either tailor your coffee shop idea to what the neighborhood demographics will support, or find the neighborhood that has people with whom your idea will most resonate.

Are there neighboring businesses?

Look for neighborhoods where there are a lot of businesses around as they will provide you with a steady stream of customers. In th morning your coffee shop should be the last destination before heading to work.

However, you need to be filling a gap in the market and going into an area under-served by coffee shops. Make sure that there is not much in the way of competing cafes so you aren’t trying to siphon off a limited amount of business.

A shopping center type of area may also be a good fit for your shop if it is one in which people can come and spend some time rather than grab a quick cup of coffee and pastry.

How is the building infrastructure?

Once you have settled on the location it is time to find the right space for your business. This means finding a lease for a space that has the proper infrastructure to support what you are trying to do.

Is there space for the customers to line up in an orderly way with room behind the counter for the equipment and staff? Will there be enough water lines to keep the machines going?

You will also need to make sure that you have access to high speed internet there.