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 recent 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 consider opening a coffee shop?
Entries (RSS)