Espresso Machine & Equipment for Starting a boutique coffee shop
Background :
I've these thoughts about quitting the computer industry altogether and starting a "normal" business either a coffee shop, or a sushi bar.
I would like to make my own "real" coffee creations, like, buy whole beans, roast them on my own and brew them to really good coffee :)
Question :
What would I need for a small (average starbucks-shop size) coffee shop in terms of equipment?
I hope we can gather some tips together :)
Thank you
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FYI, I downvoted/voted to close because I don't believe this is about startups. Startups in my view aren't just any new business, they are tech related. – Joel Friedlaender 13 years ago
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I don't think the term "startup" is restricted to tech stuff. It is a company with "limited operational history": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_company – Christian 13 years ago
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@joelfriedlaender hello, this is about a "crazy thought" for now, so why not contribute instead of "vote it down"? I never ever saw a sign on this page that it is related just for "tech" startups. Actually I've seen many many posts that are no "tech startups" either. So please be kind and contribute. Thank you – Herr K 13 years ago
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I downvoted because basically the OP wants us to do all the work of researching information that is probably not that hard to discover. If the OP can't take the time to go talk to other coffee shops or look into how to do it, he is not cut out to make it in the business. – Tim J 13 years ago
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@Tim hello, I did go to "several" local coffee shops (which we have not that many in my country) in different cities too. – Herr K 13 years ago
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@Herr Based on the information provided in the original question there was no evidence that you did any background work. Jeff Atwood has repeatedly stated that these types of questions that put all the work on the reader are not desirable. If you have SPECIFIC questions about the business it would be a better match for a Q&A site. Just asking general "what do I do now?" or "what is everything involved in starting an X business" questions is pretty useless. I removed my downvote. – Tim J 13 years ago
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What did you do in those coffee shops? Order coffee? Did you count customers or ask the customers what they like or dislike? Did you try to figure out the equipment costs or rental costs? – Tim J 13 years ago
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I've updated my question according to that. My intention was to ask for "tips". – Herr K 13 years ago
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@HerrKaleun The comments you are receiving about your question are a result of the type of site this is. We are a Q&A site, not an online forum. Our site works best when you ask a specific question. Open ended questions like this one that are discussion based are better suited for an online forum. Our FAQ states: "Please avoid wide open questions. Don't write a sentence and expect to get a page back. A question like "How can I sell more of my product" deserves an encyclopedia article. Try to scale back to something more specific.". – Zuly Gonzalez 13 years ago
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(Cont.) Our FAQ also states: "Your questions should be reasonably scoped. If you can imagine an entire book that answers your question, you’re asking too much. If your motivation for asking the question is “I would like to participate in a discussion about ______”, then you should not be asking here." I suggest you edit your question to make it more specific and add some of the details Tim suggested, otherwise it will likely be closed. Ask 1 good question related to opening a coffee shop. You can always ask follow-up questions in a different thread. – Zuly Gonzalez 13 years ago
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@Zulygonzalez i will narrow the scoop down. Thank you – Herr K 13 years ago
2 Answers
This has been answered well on "What does it take to open a boutique coffee shop " on Quora.
Googling for "how to start a coffee shop " and "coffee shop business plan " yields plenty of resources too.
You'll also find the National Coffee Association helpful for research.
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Thank you, although i had an account, i did not check quora for this. I'm still leaving this question open so it may gather some tips and interest. Thank you – Herr K 13 years ago
I'd think long and hard about the hours involved in starting a coffee shop. I had a friend who did it in Cali and she was sleeping about 4 hours a night. People want coffee when they wake up. That means you have to be ready to go at 6 a.m. or so... I just bring that up because I think a lot of programmers are nightowls who really value flexible hours, but I'm sure that's a gross stereotype.
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This is interesting and not so clear on first sight :) Yes people would like to get their coffee when they go to work. I really value this tip, thank you!:) – Herr K 13 years ago
