If you have started a coffee shop business you are likely familiar with the constant stream of requests from customers, friends and even family to add or change items on your menu. But when is it really a smart idea to revise a coffee shop menu? Many coffee shop business owners get wrapped up in the emotions of these kind of requests and wonder “If I don’t add/change this item, will it hurt my business?”
It’s opening day at the coffee shop you have put your heart and soul into. You wait anxiously for that first customer to come strolling into your meticulously designed café where you have spent months or even a year, scrutinizing over the menu and hand selecting the finest specialty coffees that would make any coffee connoisseur’s day. You’ve invested in the very best coffee making equipment money can buy, and your staff have been through several days of professional barista training and coffee classes.
Since you are reading a coffee school blog right now it is probably safe to assume you have visited a certain large chain “green mermaid” coffee shop before. Perhaps even more than once…
Think about your last visit. How did your drink taste? Now think about how all your drinks have ever tasted at every location of this large chain coffee shop. Chances are, you got a pretty consistent experience nearly every visit,
It’s seven in the morning. You are tired, as you have every right to be at this hour. Maybe you’re a little grumpy, but you’re at your favorite coffee shop so you are happy anyway. You’re about five people back in line and you want this coffee. In fact, you need it. Slowly you make your way closer and closer to the register and your mouth is watering as you imagine how delicious that first sip is going to be.
Specialty coffee, craft beverages, local baked goods, and just about all things “artisan” are in high demand these days (Even toast!). It doesn’t matter if you are in a big city like Los Angeles or you are in a small town outside a suburb of Tulsa, you’ve likely seen a small locally owned coffee shop crafting, or at least selling an array of artisan goods. Each year, thousands of would-be entrepreneurs, tired of working for someone else,