CoffeehouseTalk.com - conversation | brewed fresh daily

I'd love to hear what others our doing to contribute to the community or help individuals in their area.

I just finished reading an article in COFFEETALK's May issue about 'Fuel or Food... the global hunger crisis'. It was quite depressing! My husband and I have been chasing this dream for nearly 5 years now. We are getting closer to seeing it become a reality and now not only is the US economy having major issues but the whole world is.
My question to all of you who are actively working in the specialty coffee industry is... Is this a bad time to be entering into the business?
Let me know what you think and why.

Has anyone built their specialty coffee house from the ground up? What advice do you have for someone trying to build the building (not just a drive thru) and start a specialty coffee house?

Question: Is the whole bean bin concept dying? In most groceries the bins are not air tight and mostly in an unkempt appearance. Is that why or is it because people have grinders at home and want whole beans in bags that are resealable?

I have been open for 8 weeks now, and am extrememly frutsrated with brewed coffee. I don't have enough traffic to support brrewing a pot every ninty minutes and then dumpling it out. I am open from 5:30 am to 7pm.
We push the Americanos, but have requests for brewed and flavored also. I wondered if any one else had this problem when they first opened. Our traffic is getting a little better each week, but I still don't sell enough to warrent a couple of pounds of beans each day. When I brew it, they don't come, and when I don't I'll have a couple of request in a row.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Hello All, I am glad I found this website. It looks like alot of good info. We are becoming the 1st drive thru espresso stand in town, but we already know there is another one on are tails. There is only 1 walk in place, and there is one coming on their tails.

We thought we had decided on a smoothie base, that we could add fruit etc... We are deciding against that and need help and opinions on other products pros/cons Dr. Smoothie, Jet Tea, what else is there???

Also what type of Hot Chocolate do you do??

Any baked goods you would definatly recommend having, and any you wouldnt mess with???
We asked a couple of local bakeries if they want to do our baking and their label could be on the product, which they seem to be struggling to stay a float, they were not intrested.
So we are having to get it from the local grocery store, unless other recomendations.

We want to do things right, Any helpful info of mistakes we can avoid, Would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Kimberly

I have 5 women employees that are driving me crazy with jealousy, power struggles and hormones. We just opened our second location and the drama these gals create between one another is overwhelming. I find is hard to love my little drive thru coffee houses, I own 2, and ready to fire them all and work myself. My phone starts ringing off the hook everyday at 7am , everything from where's the sharpie pens to are we out of club soda? Oh and get this one..."you like her better than me, she's your favorite and I work hard too." By the way, 2 of these girls are motherless. I have tried to create an awesome atmosphere for our girls and they are all amazing in their own right regarding their skills and expertise when it comes to holding the title Barista. Although, behind the scenes their lives spill over bringing their troubles to work and I've had it quite frankly. What happened to the work ethics from yesteryear. Anyone else have the same drama?

interesting article about coffee drinking...and memory.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=coffee-break-does-caffeine-perk-up-m...

I just joined....and want to share a coffeehouse link in Janesville Wisconsin....this is a really
great place.

www.mochamoment.com

and also....I am an avid reader of the Cleo Coyle coffeehouse mysteries....fun reads.
Her new one is due out soon.......French Pressed. Enjoy her website.....

www.coffeehousemystery.com

and remember...EVERY day is coffee day !!!!

I am sure everyone agrees that it is necessary to have a solid marketing plan. One that covers our seasonal activities (Valentines Day, Spring, Summer fun, Fall, holidays, etc.) We have found that weather has a lot to do with our sales in general. We make big money on ice cold smoothies but hardly anyone wants a smoothie in the cold, wind and rain. We are in a college town so our smoothies don't do as well in the cold and our kids only want hot chocolate that is if they think to come in. Most will settle for McDonald's or other quick specialty drinks. Our coffees are much more expensive and most of the students don't drink coffee. So we have to spend more energy on enticing people to come in for specials and seasonal activities. That requires a lot more of the budget than we can actually afford. Which means radio, television, billboards are out. We are not making enough money during the cold and rain to afford such things.

We are now relying a lot on posters that are provided through our vendors. They are free or very cheap. Also we send our employees out an hour a day when it is slow to put flyers on cars at markets and other crowded places. We have added sandwiches, salads and wraps which make up about 50% of our sales when business is slow.

Anybody got any more suggestions out there?