Boomer Business Idea - The Coffee Shop
Image details: Coffee Shop served by picapp.com
As I’ve written before on this blog, I love coffee. And I have a wonderful vision of sitting in a little coffee shop, serving biscotti, bagels and all kinds of coffee and tea. People are chatting, using their laptops, relaxing. 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.
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 little too far. And most people don’t drink that much wine every day. On the other hand, there are many 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?
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POSTED IN: Boomer Businesses in Difficult Financial Times, Businesses for Boomers
2 opinions for Boomer Business Idea - The Coffee Shop
Joel Libava
Jul 28, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Jean,
I called this one wrong! I predicted the coffee shop craze would be gone in 2006. Coffee is cool. Looks like it will stay that way. {Just not the $4.75 freaking Lattes cool.}
Joel Libava
The Franchise King Blog
Jean
Jul 30, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Thanks, Joel. I am still reserving judgment, wondering how long people will put up with outrageous coffee prices.
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