As I’ve written before on this blog, I love coffee. And I have a wonderful vision of sitting in a tiny coffee shop, serving biscotti, bagels and all kinds of coffee and tea. People are chatting, using their laptops, resting. And I’m having a great time chatting, making fantastic-smelling and looking latte’s, and raking in the money.
OK, it’s a dream. Have you ever thought about running a coffee shop? It’s a growing business, despite Starbuck’s recent downturn and its announcement that it is closing 600 stores. In a current article, Business Week stated there are over 26,000 coffee shops (including kiosks and carts) in the U.S., and 60% are independent.Â
The trade association for coffee, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), says that coffee shops/kiosks/drive-ups are a $12 billion industry in the U.S. While Starbucks might be closing stores, independent coffee shops are finding their niches and thriving.
What makes a coffee shop successful? An SCAA poll showed these characteristics to be most important:
- Coffee quality and convenient location (70% of adults cited this factor)
- Friendly and knowledgeable staff (40%)
- Variety (35%)
- Price (26%)
A story on ABC News in Chicago a year ago said people consider coffee like “fine wine.” I think this is going a tiny too far. And most people don’t drink that much wine each day. On the other hand, there are several people who consider coffee a necessity, not a luxury.
Do you think the speciality coffee business is (pardon the pun) running out of steam? Or will it survive the economic downturn and come back again stronger? Would you take into account opening a coffee shop?
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