We are a small coffeeshop located in a small Northwest town that is near the Olympic National Forest. Summer months are extremely busy (compared to the rest of the year). We are located on the main drag and in a highly visible spot. Every business that has opened in our spot has closed within a year. The problem is that the tourism stops just after Labor Day and the locals are few in numbers so our business suffers. We have been open for 2 years now and I feel we are beginning to make some headway with the locals. We closed for 2 months last winter and when we opened people were happy. They said they tried other spots near by (20 minutes in either direction) but we were the best and they did not want us to close again.
Any ideas on what we can do during the winter months to increase service or sales? Or maybe cut back on expenses?
build locals
I'm also in a tourist area but we are open all year round but business does drop during January-March. We started a song circle/open mic. and that seems to be growing. We ask for a fee that gets them one drink on the house. Sure helps here. Good Luck
PR in the community
Would offering your location to church groups (i.e. small group study) or local organizations as a meeting place help (off months). What about other activities or community connections? Can you afford to sponsor an event for local charity?
Are you a member of the local chamber of Commerce? Can you host the monthly meeting?
Support a different church each week with refreshments for before or after the service.
Is there a community center or senior center in your area that you could offer to take refreshments to once a month with a really nice little sign with your logo... What about scout troops, youth groups.... is there any special events your shop could sponsor?
Super low rates for birthday party or other special event gatherings....
You get the idea, folks have to think of you as their 'third place'.
It's all about being part of the community.... once the community knows you are in it for the long haul they are less likely to treat you like another fly-by-night temporary business. Changing the local's opinion about a location isn't always easy so you have to go out and really connect with them.
See the posting about the 'free coffee day'. If it's just brewed coffee and for a limited time on a particular day than you can plan to have the extra staff on hand and the overhead will be nominal compared to the PR you will get. Plus you can promo a different house coffee each event.
Don't be afraid to toot your own horn and submit 'copy ready' articles to the local or area papers. Our paper loves it when they receive news on a silver plater that way.
winter months in a tourist area
Our coffee shop is facing the same situation. We have snowmobiling to help bring people to town during January, February and sometimes March, but is really only noticeable on weekends. We have a gift shop attached to our building which helps to draw customers and serve as the only bakery in town. This will be our first winter open in our new location and we too desire to stay open all year. Good luck on your future.