November 21, 2004

• I haven't, but I know some people who opened a restaurant a few years ago. Has this space already got a kitchen that is up to code? When you say "small stove" is that a commercial quality one, with a full commercial-grade exhaust vent system? My friends' experience has taught me that building a kitchen to code from scratch is both extremely expensive and a lot of hard work.
• Here's the types of gourds we'll be serving the matte in. Here's an art collective of some friends of mine, who we'll tap for help with the art and design of the space. More on tasty empanadas.
• Cali, nope and nope. Don't want it to be a kitchen, don't want to have to worry about codes. All we're doing is re-heating the empanadas, and while we'll be offering a lot of different empanadas to our customers, we are by no means a restaurant. Really, the stove will probably be some 50 dollar one we get off craigslist. We're just going to build a bar around that and the fridge we've got, put the espresso machine on the counter, and call it good. What I do need to figure out is what kind of codes I will need to abide by, though I figure it won't be much. Whatever the codes for a coffee shop that re-heats one food item would be.
• Variety man. I hate coffee and tea. Do something new. And have a no-laptop policy.
• I have no experience of this but $6k sounds like a very small amount to get a business off the ground. I wish you and your friends great success, I wish there were a cafe like yours near me.
• My "beware! beware!" restaurant scare story only applies to quasi-rural (unincorporated very small town) development. Are you on top of the health department requirements for a cafe of your scale? If not, they will shut you down faster than you can say salmonellosis. Many small food/drink service businesses can corrode from gradual employee pilferage: the temptation to top off inadequate tips from the till, etc. I hope that you three can make profit-sharing work, as it sounds like a good solution. Finally, who is your market? How are they being served today? What will bring them to patronize you instead?
• I should mention some of the other ideas we've had for the cafe. 1: Sell cool old tins of hand rolled cigarettes. We'd buy cool cigarette tins at antique stores or we'd order pressed tins online and do the art on them ourselves. Roll 20 Amsterdam Shag's in some good paper, sell a tin full of 'em for 6 bucks. There's a hell of a lot of hipsters in portland, so if we make this cool enough we could get people to buy them (and it'd be so cheap to make). 2: Sell mix CD's. Not exactly legal, but we don't care. We'd sell mix CD's comprised entirely of cool shit we constantly find from around the world, though probably focusing on South America. If we are smart about it, we should be able to sell mix CD's with no american (or only free-music american) bands, and hopefully not hit legal problems. 3: Ongoing rotating art gallery. Simple enough, we're of course doing this. 4: Get a TV and show films. Good films, with designated showing times. 5: ??? 6: Profit. Sorry. I totally couldn't resist. Ok, I'm sure I'll post plenty more in this thread as I think of more info to add.....
• Ian You can get tons of freebies from your vendors by commiting to exclusive deals. (bottled waters, coffee).They'll also pay for advertising. You can milk this for months. Get something in writing in case one of you dies. Seriously. I had a friend who ended up sharing his half of a restaurant with his dead partners wife. (mega biatch from hell) Good insurance. One "slip and fall" can fluck your biz up good. Check into your entertainment licensing for your location. Just one person playing a guitar at a table can be labled as "entertainment" by the city. This can open up a whole shitcan of problems if the city decides to monkey with you. (so to speak). It's better to have the license ahead of time. Get Wifi.
• Get something in writing in case one of you dies. Seriously. I had a friend who ended up sharing his half of a restaurant with his dead partners wife. Oh man, I read that as "partner's dead wife" and pictured people eating their empanadas whilst sat round a coffin. Not sure how hygienic that would be...
• It sounds like more "hopefully this will work" rather than bulletproof planning, but I tend to be way more conservative about these things, since my freelancing thing went tits up. I'd be especially leery of the mix-CD thing, especialy since RIAA has proven to be slap-happy with the lawsuits. Still, I hope everything works out well and should I ever find myself in Portland (Washington, Oregon, or Maine?) I will drop by. Of course, I have yet to go grab a burger with Squidranch, so don't worry too much about it. ActuallySettle: why the no-laptop policy?
• Goetter: Portland currently has 2 all night coffee shops, the first being the always-popular-with-the-highschool-kids 'Coffee Time', the second being a soul sucking starbucks out in the suburbs. So, immediately, there's one target market. Really, Portland is a funny place. It's the pop-culture birthplace of PBR and parlaiments, it's the gayest and the whitest major city I think in the nation. People here are obsessed with that vague notion of 'culture'; there are equally rich yuppie fucks who'll throw down good money for what they believe to be an authentic cultural experience, as are there hippies, hipsters, and everything else in between. So our target market is inbetween. Fundamentally urban, cheap, and poor (6k starting budget). Run by 20-somethings who will play as much K records as Ninja Tune, City Slang, and Lukabop. Stylish and smart, but more cheap and good. We predict the empanadas and matte with gourds and bombillas will be cool and once we establish a base of customers and get some word-of-mouth advertising we'll get alot of the cool kids in here. We'll show crazy films that most haven't seen (Saint Clara, Battle of Algiers, Underground, etc), sell good cigarettes, have comfy couches and good art. So really it's meant to be hip, except I hate hipsters even though I'd easily be mistaken for one. But mostly, it's just meant to be what it is, and hopefully people will like what we did with it and we can at least not lose money on the co-op.
• drivingmenuts: Actually we've got a bulletproof charter which lays down the entire economics of it, voting procedures for charter changes, buying in/buying out of the co-op, etc. Because the accounting and the internals are the most important part of a shared business. That's just way too much for me to post in here. What we don't have is a rock solid idea of what the resulting cafe will be. We've got most of it laid out, and we've got a beautiful space that we can do just about anything with, but I figure there'd be a ton of good suggestions from people in here we could end up using. Also, I need to look more into insurance. Argh: Yeah, I completely forgot the WiFi in my earlier list. That is of course going in.
• ActuallySettle: Matte is hot shit. Empanadas are delicious. Couches are comfortable. The coffee is just the crappy fallback; if you run a cafe in the NW, you kind of have to sell espresso as well.
• And drivingmenuts: because people with laptops are totally douchey. jaysus, I think I've posted far too many comments in my own thread. (:
• You should look into all those codes before you get too excited about it -- cross all your legal T's and dot all your legal I's and all that. Is any of your pals experienced with starting a business? I think you should have at least one experienced partner. And don't be ashamed about profit - that's what it's all about, in the end.
• Why would you have WiFi, but ban laptops? /confused So you're 24-hour, and you're smoker-friendly. Those two features alone should certainly differentiate you! The smoker thing may repel some of your market, too. I'm just sayin'. Very best of luck.
• My former partner operates a similar cafe business in California. Some things I learned through him, having learned some things the hard way. - No matter where you locate, your business presence will anger at least one person. Maybe it's for sentimental reasons ("That used to be a barbershop where my Uncle Earl worked for 40 years and look what they're doing to his space and his memory!") or maybe they're just a jerk with too much free time on their hands. Regardless, this person will do whatever they can to make running your business as difficult as possible. - The above makes selling mix CDs of dubious origin very risky. The international counterparts to RIAA are just as humorless about copyright violations. - Make nice with your fellow commercial tenants. Join the Chamber of Commerce, the merchants associations, the business alliances. Sometimes the membership fees feel like extortion, but if you have a repuation as a positive, contributing presence in the community, your allies are more likely to close ranks around you when trouble arises. Best of luck. :)
• goetter: Kidding, or course would not ban them. It's just such a common sight it gets annoying. Or maybe I'm just jealous because I couldn't afford to be one of those cool laptop kids. (:
• I'd be very careful with the mix CDs. The RIAA has filed plenty of lawsuits against downloaders. These people, remember, aren't making any money from their activity online. If you start to sell their IP, I doubt they'd be content with a couple thousand dollars as a settlement, should they catch on to you. It could mean jail time, potentially. Businesses usually have to pay licensing fees if they want to play music or show films. In Canada, for example, the organization responsible for collecting these fees has threatened dentists who play music in their offices. Music isn't exactly a big part of their business, but with a cafe it is, and I suspect they would attract even more attention. I think at the very least you should check out the potential penalties and maybe get some legal advice unique to your location. I do, however, want to wish you the best of luck. I hope it works out.
• Hey Ian, You have a lot of good ideas, but I'd be more cautious with the legal stuff. Its pretty likely that a used household type oven isn't going to fly with the board of health - at most cafe's with this kind of menu I've seen a countertop oven with one or two sliding trays for heating up food. Also I'm pretty sure that you might have a problem selling hand rolled cigarettes legally (tobacco tax etc). Fines for violating codes suck and can quickly put you out of business. That said, cafe's like yours tend to be my favorite places to hang out. Some of my favorite things about cafe's I've been to Cafe journals/ sketchbooks -there for anyone to write or draw in - they were an amazing chronicle of the on goings of the cafe over the years Silent movie night - I'd never watch silent films on my own accord but these were really cool and seemed to draw a good crowd. Mugs for regulars - at an old breakfast shop I worked at the regulars would bring mugs in to leave at the shop. It took new people about a week to learn everyone's mug, but the customers really seemed to enjoy it. It also helps after hours when talking about customers " ...you know the guy with the gonzo mug...." Games - and not just chess. I recently walked into my new favorite coffee shop and was handed a bingo card. They used coffee beans as markers and bought a bunch of prizes at the dollar store. Now I'm generally not a bingo fan, but we all had a great time, I got to know the staff and some of the regulars better, and went home with a twelve pack of colored sharpies!
• Oh, and there's a chance you'll need a license to sell cigarettes. You might want to look into that as well.
• ASCAP or BMI is gonna have their hand out if you play any music at your cafe. And is the health department gonna sign off on those gourds? How are you going to wash them? There are laws and codes that say how hot the water has to be to wash plates and cups and such.You have no idea how nitpicky Health Codes can be.
• Are your friends making the empanada at home? The health department might require that the food served be produced in a place using the same guidelines as a restaurant would have to follow - subject to inspections and the like. Check into the requirements for fire protection. Does the building have a sprinkler system? If not, will you need fire extinguishers? It also stikes me that the US Alcohol, Tobacco Tax and Fire Arms agency my have rules about selling hand rolled cigarettes, or could want tax payments.
• What about indie music labels? Aren't they more willing to work with businesses like these? What about the plethora of great talent out there that gives their music away for free? Seems there's better alternatives than the ASCAP/BMI mafia.
• I don't know about Portland OR, but in Twisp (N central WA state) we have a communal commercial kitchen, explicitly set up to reconcile the requirements of the Department of Public Health and undercapitalized food vendors who can't afford to keep their own commercial kitchen. Perhaps the empanada manufacturers could locate something similar.
• I am not trying to piss on your parade, but in general I would say that finding the right gourds to serve in should be your last priority. I would focus more on developing a solid way to track your expenses and income. You want to be able to quickly and easily detect where you make the most money, and where you lose the most, so that you can respond and change and grow as a business. It goes without saying that a careful, informed bookkeeping approach will also fend off a lot of problems and disagreements between you and your friends. When you don't have solid information about where the money is going, you wind up deciding things based on intuition, and you won't always agree (not to mention make the right choice). Small businesses like this go out of business more often than not. If I were you, I would operate under a sense of impending doom for a while. That's just realistic. Concentrate on basics, focus on staying alive, not on being ultra-stylish. You may think that being stylish *is* core to keeping the business alive, but it's not. Prudent accounting is more important for a good long while yet. Again, I'm not trying to pee on your vision of yerba mate and world peace, but if your business blinks out of existence, you can't do any work toward that vision. Good luck - I admire your courage in undertaking the venture. May you enjoy success!
• My Google-fu is weak at the moment, but I believe there have been cases of ASCAP/BMI demanding a cut regardless of whether they deserve it. They consider certain businesses to be likely to play music, and demand payment regardless of whether they do or not. I seems to remember stories of ASCAP/BMI looking through requests for new business licenses as a way to find "likely types" of businesses to mail their letters to. You can defend yourself if you're not doing anything wrong, of course, but that requires money for lawyers and tends to be more expensive than simply paying the extortion. But, again, I can't seem to track down the links.
• Just one more reason why solid accounting is important: The worst thing that could happen isn't the cafe going out of business. The worst thing that could happen is that, plus you and your friends being saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debts afterward. Keep ahead of the books. Lagging a month behind may come back to burn you badly on a personal level.
• There are plenty of record companies who will make you compilations to play, and charge you very little for them. That way you avoid breaking the law (which I have no personal problem with, but it increases your risks) and still get the tunes. If you want South American stuff that's off the beaten path, check out No Fun Records, who are from Argentina but live in the US and bring up all sorts of great artists. The guy who runs it has connections to a lot of other S. Amer. labels as well, and will be happy to make the connection... Oh, and you should be flying beneath ASCAP and BMI's radar anyway, but if you can get yourself declared as a non-profit, you can essentially forget about ever worrying about them (the fees for non-profits are next to nil).
• As to the legal stuff see the Oregon Restaunt Association here. Don't get too cozy with them though, they seem to hate the Oregon minimum wage of $7.05. And good luck
• I have to agree with most folk here - it sounds like a cool idea, but fines, lawsuits and code violations are not cool at all. I've worked at/managed many a small cafe in my time, and it is not something to be entered into without a lot of research and lead-in time. Do you know what the fire/food prep/capacity regulations are for your space? What are the legal requirements for bathroom facilities for the type of business you're planning? Do you have neighbours above or beside you that could be negatively impacted by your business should their be a fire or vermin problem? Where will the food be made in the mornings? On the premises or off? If off, is that legal? Do you have to have any kind of health or safety certification for people preparing food? TB/Hep shots, that kind of thing. If you have volunteers making food in the mornings, be careful that you don't suddenly have nothing to sell one morning because somebody slept in, somebody else had to go to an emergency dental appointment, and somebody else thought it wasn't their turn that morning. Your place can be cool as all get-out, but people are creatures of habit, and will not spend money where they have been inconvenienced even only a couple of times. Word of mouth can absolutely kill you too - it's important to really let it sink in that *nobody* owes you their business, absolutely nobody, regardless of how much they talk like you, dress like you, or listen to the same tunes. If people aren't getting what they want, how they want, in a timely manner, they'll go elsewhere. As well they should. Don't want to be negative, but a few bad moves here could effect you legally and financially for many years. If this is really important to you and your partners, you'll still be into it after the six months or so of research you should be doing before you jump into this; if your partners have wandered off into the sunset by then, you will be very fortunate to have realised the commitment wasn't there before getting hung out to dry.
• 1. Best wishes -- I really hope that this works out great for you, your friends, and your customers. 2. Do you have a lawyer? If not - GET ONE. It will be worth the expense to have a thorough legal review. 3. Insurance -- do you have it? Is it enough? Will it cover you? Your "employees" or helpers? Customers? 4. Go for it -- good luck!
• we should be able to sell mix CD's with no american [...] bands, and hopefully not hit legal problems Music should be free! So I can put it in a tin and sell it! Grrrrrrrrrr! Why is it that people who are otherwise reasonable feel entitled to burn (geddit) others in this way? Why can't you get a few CDs in and sell them? Maybe make a little money for both parties? Because what you're proposing is straight theft.
• First, good luck. Starting a business is a noble goal and hard work. However, living in Portland and dealing with the city on situations like this before, let me offer some free advice. You are required to get a City of Portland business license (2.2% of net income with a minimum of $100) and a Multnomah County Business license (1.45% of net income) Details. If you serve food of any kind, even re-heating, you need a license. Application here. All employees will also need Food Handler's cards and you must submit to unannounced food inspections, including one before you start. Third, are you sure your landlord knows what you are doing? If not, you may be in violation of your lease. It's best to have a full and solid business plan that they agree to. Otherwise, they could shut you down immediately, especially if you are doing illegal activites, i.e. selling mix cds, replaying movies, etc. Finally, and these are too numerous to track down, be sure that you will not violate any city or county business codes. For example, IIRC, 24 hour establishments, no matter where, require code exemptions. Oh and your business will be non-smoking, no real choice here due to state law. Your appliances must be of commercial qualtiy, i.e. no craigslist. And so on. Not to be too negative I hope, but it sounds like you have more enthusiasm than planning. I would suggest visiting the SBA (515 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1050) who can give you, for free, better advice than any of us can on what you need to do.
• Good luck, Ian, and I mean that. My piece of advice is to not go into business with your friends. You are obviously doing that already, but you still should pretend that they are not your friends and not get any cozier or informal with them. As many have mentioned: contract, contract, contract (the legal agreement that is; I am not telling you to get smaller). A major problem with going in with friends is that everyone trusts each other and things are not done in a formal manner. Even if one you does not turn out to be an ass, unwritten, informal agreements (personal loans and expenses are among the most common sources of conflict) will come back to haunt you in a big way. Good luck!
• Scott: A plethora of good info, thanks. I've already inquired into a business license, they take 100$ for the first year, and every subsequent year take 2.2 of the profit. Multnomah County Business license I believe is the same setup; I'll read more into that. The place will of course be non-smoking. We are spending 1000 for a commercial class espresso machine, I want to say it'll be a C2 or whatever it is. I hadn't previously thought through for a commercial oven, but if that is a requirement then same thing; I'll go to Rose's and get a good, cheap, and small rated oven. It will not quite be 24 hours... in fact, it will more be open the hours we feel like. Which means it'll most likely operate from late morning till 2 or 3 AM. (I know people will cry foul of not having super standard operational hours. That's a bridge we can cross later though.) Excellent advice all around, thank you all very much. Let me say a few more things: In SE Portland it's a fairly low-income to middle class neighborhood. We're going for the kids that bike everywhere, and we're situated around tons of other sketchy businesses. My old favorite Latino restaurant used to have "FAILED" prominently displayed on their front door, in reference to health inspections, and only finally got around to passing it a few months ago. The local skateboard, clothing, and spraypaint store regularly throws keggers despite having no liquor license. Despite all my talk of style and all that, this is by no means a high class establishment, and we do not wish to get customers who'll park outside in nice cars. It's a bit hard to explain the neighborhood demographic; being from here it's just what I know, and I feel I know a very good way to build a community around a cafe catering to a niche the portland east side could use. And retail space in many beautiful old buildings around here goes for well under 1$ per sq.ft. The mix CD so far seems to get the most criticism, but I still like it. The legal problems behind it are small; realistically, we'd sell very few of these, and in this area it's not like anyone will ever notice/care about us selling weird mix albums. But I'd say I'm much more reconsidering; that's a silly idea (one of many extra one's just to make us more unique, draw people), and we can revisit it once we open. And lastly, to address Wolof's point: First off, we'd sell mix CDs for probably 3 bucks a piece, with about the same profit margin we get on an empanada. It's not for the cash, though that'd just be another little thing we could help make money with. It's really for us to get music out, for us to live out dj fantasies and make ill mixes of, say, the 69-74 Lagos scene. Or Moraito's Bronce, which can't be purchased in the US. Or a mix with all the projects Bregovic has worked on. It's for us to expose music to people here, in a town that's entirely saturated with hiphop and the dorky white kids that like douche cab for cutie. Because the more good music you get people to like, the more good albums they will purchase, and in turn far more revenue will go to those artists that truly deserve it. Or, at least, that's how I feel about it. It's a more long term economic model. The artists, through greater exposure, will reap the benefits as well.
• Welcome back, Scott. Did the Portland topic flush you from deep cover?
• However you put it, selling other people's property for profit without their consent is theft. Good luck with the cafe, though, that's a brave move and I hope it comes off for you.
• Oh, and also in regards to contracts, friends, etc: I've actually worked out a rather comprehenive charter for the business. A constitution, almost, it lays down all the rules for repayment of debt (we put money into this cafe, we buy the coffee and expense it to the cafe, etc), division of profits, and buying in and buying out of the co-op. (All parties must buy-in, meaning they agree to pay a certain percentage of the monthly rent+util). The charter also lays out the voting system to amend any part of the charter, and once I finalize a few more bits of it the three of us will each sign it and be official. We will then begin actively recruiting for buyers into the co-op, really just focusing on immediate friends. Anyone who then buys in agrees to the charter, owes a monthly due, and is obligated to work a certain small amount of time each month. Profits are then divied up based on hours worked and how great your monthly due is (so if one of us straight up covers half the monthly due then they get a larger percentage back out of the profit). The three of us are best friends and work incredibly well together. Being that we work well together, the three of us completely realize the importance of having a solid charter and solid business plan, and so far have focused entirely on creating and laying down the best profitsharing model we could, and working out the voting system on the charter. Any time we change the charter then everyone who owns a stake in the co-op will vote on it to approve it. So, in that sense, the charter is our living document, and it will probably begin to change immediately after we first sign it. Er, ok, my fingers hurt. (:
• Your organization sounds like the one of the Café Chaos in Montreal. Altough they are a full bar/nightclub.
• Instead of a bigger, more expensive stove, could you do away with the stove entirely and have a toaster oven on the counter for people to heat their (cold) empanadas in? If it's legal to have a toaster for bagels then I'd assume it's legal to do that too. Just a thought. And on the movies, I think you're okay if it's all public domain stuff. Just be sure to check before you show it. Good luck!
• ian would say, when you apply for your license, you should probably apply for a 24-hour license anyway (assuming you're required to state your opening hours). You're probably better off to get a 24-hour license and close early when it's quiet than to get, say, a 9am to midnight license and be open past closing time. At least check out how casual closing times will affect your business. I think a22lamia had the advice that I most agree with. And I'd agree with Wolof and suggest you source your music from indie labels or new bands, who need the most help anyway. Best of luck! If I'm in your area ever I'll be sure to try the empanadas. :)
• There's a cafe in my neighborhood that began somewhat like you're describing. It still has thrift store furniture and is generally funky but the coffee is phenomenal (they don't serve food except muffins and ice cream). More importantly, though, is the location is absolutely ideal; it's located in a heavy foot-traffic area very near a medium sized university and close to many other schools and students. The cafe was also lucky because the area was somewhat downtrodden but quickly became ultra-hip. It'll be extremely difficult to make a go of it without a great location; you'll absolutely require walk-by traffic and lots of it. Double (at least) your estimate of how much money you'll need. There are always all sorts of expenses you hadn't anticipated. Can you stick it out for several months if it isn't immediately succesful? Also double your estimates of how much of your time it will require and how much of a headache it'll be. Starting a business because you want to work less and want to (at least at first) make more is a recipe for disappointment. Keep in mind, though, that if you very carefully analyze everything and weigh the potential risks versus possible failure you won't do it. Anyone who's done well starting business did so despite all the evidence they'd fail. So go for it and good luck.
• And if you wanna stay in business for more than eight weeks, sell pot out of the back door of the kitchen.
• goetter- yep. I've been dropping in and out since I got my Mefi account a few months ago but this one was sorta up my alley. I'm surprised you noticed I was back, or even gone...
• This all sounds interesting, but I gotta say I'm with Wolof on the mix cds. Ripping off musicians is supremely not cool. And that's what you do when you sell their music for your own profit and they get nothing. Just because they're from developing nations doesn't make it ok. It seems like really bad karma to me.
• While I'm still here being an arse, could I request that people posting a "Curious George" give a supplementary title to it? It makes the thing so much easier to dig up later if it's called something like "Curious George -- Starting a Coffee Shop", or whatever. KTHX!!!
• Actually that's a good idea Wolof. In fact I'd call that simple common sense. heh. my bad.
• My parents moved from Michigan to NYC when I was 8, we owned a deli at first, then moved on to a Supermarket. We also opened a coffee house/bistro in Manhattan which failed after 2 years. The reason for failure was a lack of beer/wine license, spotty food and coffee quality, and inconsistent hours. I would also suggest you keep a healthy amount of juices, soda (imports if you want to be fancy) and water. I know that, I, for one, wouldn't want to wash down an empanada with hot coffee, which is more of a sippin' drink. Also, get a fire extinguisher and CPR kit. Make sure to get a annual contract with a pest exterminator. It makes it easier to go before the judge if you have a failure on your health inspection, to pass some of the blame on to the exterminator. And believe me, you'll fail occasionally. Depending on the inspector, a stray coffee ground which resembles a mouse dropping is enough. You should also make conversation with the appropriate customer. If someone is in a rush and wants a coffee and an empanada, fire 'em out the door, but if it's not too busy, chat up the people. Learn their names. After a few repeat visits, inquire about significant others (hopefully they'll bring 'em by) and instruct your more attractive staff/owners to subtly flirt with obviously single folk, if they're inclined to do so. Lastly, be prepared for the soul crushing first week. Having five people come in every hour, with three of them being "just looking" curious types can be a bit disheartening. That first week is very important. Don't have your staff sitting down watching TV or reading the paper. Always look busy behind the counter, like you're expecting the rush any minute. Clean the counter twenty times an hour if you have to. No one wants to walk in a store that they think nobody else wants to go to. The staff with nothing to do should simply pretend to be customers.
• Debaser626: Excellent, thank you. Agree with the flirt thing, never had thought about a pest exterminator. We're in fact prepared for a soul crushing first 4 months, until spring kicks in. However, there is this beautiful old high school across the street which is getting renovated and turned into a community center, and when that finishes we'll start to see more people. Imported juices and drinks. Of course, that's fantastic.
• I recommend feijoa juice, if you can get it.
• Debaser626: yes, opening night/week/month blues. I'd almost forgotten. When you first start a cafe up, none of the staff will have had any experience with the logistics of serving your customers in your setup, so it's extremely common for a new business to completely piss off potential supporters. Many new restaurants have an unofficial opening, where they get some practice on who does what and what goes where, then, maybe after an intermission for regrouping, have a GRAND OPENING and hope they learned from the opening. My experience is from a very different kind of venue, but I think you'll find that there are barriers to serving your clientel that you didn't anticipate. You need rehearsal to take care of those. Just a minor thought. If you have 5 customers who order empanadas within a few minutes of each other, How do you track which are for whom, especially in a one oven environment? If the second customer winds up with the really done ones meant for the first, the first will notice. Restaurants are really as much dependent on logistics as they are on ambiance or friendly staff. And logistics can be honed with practice.
• path: Logistically, we're working with 700 or so sqft. space, so tracking customers is a non-issue. Feijo juice huh? I'll look into it. Many great ideas, thanks all. i <3 mofi
• So, how is the cafe coming along, ian would say?