If you’re thinking about opening a coffee shop, or even
frequenting one with any, um, frequency, I encourage you to learn from my
experiences.
1.
Make it
big. I go to coffee shops to be around other people. Small,
hole-in-the-wall shops just mean that it will be the barista and me. Awkward.
2.
Use your
front window to put the loners. I love the bar-style seating that runs
along many front windows. I can sit comfortably and not feel guilty about
taking up a whole table.
3.
Offer
free Wi-fi. If people are abusing the bandwidth, kick them off. Otherwise,
charging for Internet access is antiquated and cheap.
4.
Figure
out your refill policy. If you’re going to offer a “bottomless mug”, make
it convenient to get a refill. If you’re going to charge per refill, state it
clearly on your menu and don’t charge an initial price that’s out of line with
other shops.
5.
Keep it
clean. When a place is crowded or messy, there’s a short window of time
before I decide to just move onto the next place. Having a person on staff to
quickly clean vacated tables is like rolling out a welcome mat just for me.