I’ve just been doing some feasibility work for a new coffee shop in another town advising a museum as to how they could look to create a great coffee offer, whilst at the same time curating a great partnership with an operator who shares a similar ethos. When I approach a job like this, I always start by working on what it could cost a business to operate and work back from there as to what they can afford to pay to be there. Free to access museums have very few revenue streams, so balancing their income from rent from a food and beverage operator with ensuring the survival of the museum for the public, is of paramount importance. This is where this title figure of 2.5-5% comes from, the current average net profit margin from an independent speciality coffee shop. These are tiny margins. They show why when costs like rent, labour, ingredients or utilities go up just a small amount, businesses fail. They often have little to no contingency either. Luckily this sector adapted quite well during covid so most avoided huge Covid-era loans to prop them up.
So, this is all fairly depressing, like a lot of things in food and society at the moment – it’s one of the reasons I’ve not blogged since my first article. There’s already so much negativity out there that you don’t need me adding to it.
But, somehow, in all this, I feel a sense of warmth. Despite the challenges, we have many independent coffee shops trading and many more in the pipeline to open. In the past I’ve often pointed to poor business literacy. While that still exists (people not knowing their numbers and ignorantly open up without knowing what they need to do in sales, by product and how to manage their cost base etc) but it is certainly less common than it used to be. Many of those business owners have already departed in this tough market.
So, why, do we have the businesses opening as we do. Well, we are surrounded by passionate people, who’ve found a craft and in turn have found a purpose. They care about their customers, their products and the bridge which is a great level of service in a pleasant environment. They have created their own communities at a time when communities are often disparate or fractured. There is a shared sense of belonging and commitment. There’s something deeply beautiful in that and to be held in the upmost respect. It isn’t easy. They turn up day-after-day. Dailing in their machines in a morning and popping the bins out in the evening and everything in between. Coffee is an affordable luxury to most. It’s sociable and it’s deeply rooted in community.
Drinking coffee at an independent is a community service. In this crazy, digital age peddling daily doom, coffee may well be the superpower that keeps us all together.
