opening a coffee/sandwich shop

[raggydoll]

Hello, i stumbled across this forum in doing a bit of internet research!

My partner and i are currently looking into the idea of setting up a coffee shop in our local town. The town is currently undergoing a lot of development including the opening of a brand new shopping centre next spring. The town currently has a lot of run down pubs a coop cafe and two other cafes along similar lines to what we are thinking. One is quite a long way out of town and the other is very small and people often leave before being served because they cant get in the shop so we feel there is a definite gap to be filled there. We also plan to do takeaway sandwiches etc. and a pre ordering services for local businesses to do so that sandwiches etc can be ready for collection at lunch time with a view to developing this into a delivery service in the future. We also plan to sell local art work that can be displayed in the shop.

This is very much at the initial idea stage and at the moment we are trying to work out whether to take the risk or not. My partner currently has his own landscaping business and i am a project manager for a charity both of us are looking for a total change and would like to do something together.

It would be fa if anyone could point us in the direction of any helpful websites/companies that sell/loan the sort of equipment we will be needing. And also anyone who has done this in the past that would be willing to share there experience with us would be great.

Sorry for the rambling post!

[Ian J]

There are loads of companies that sell catering equipment and as so many cafes and restaurants go bust there is a lot of second hand equipment available.

What type of unit are you intending to run your cafe in if it needs to be fitted out?

Location is of prime importance when considering a venture like this as you need to ensure that you have footfall before you even start worrying about what kind of food to sell.

Coffee shops near or in a shopping precinct and sandwich bars with office blocks in close proximity are the ideal sort of locations.

I did have a sandwich bar / cafe 20 years ago that was in the centre of a small shopping precinct in Newcastle and that did quite well until the centre was sold off for redevelopment

[raggydoll]

Hi and thanks for replying. We havent found any specific place yet we just have an idea of the area of the town we want to be in so we are looking at all of our options. Like i say it really is at the initial ideas stage really but i thought it would be really useful to make contact with people who have actually done it before.