# Advice Please



## PortCafe (Mar 1, 2010)

Hi Folks,

new on the forum (and newish to the catering game).

Your assistance would be appreciated. I took over a small shoreside cafe on an island off the West Coast of Scotland in September.

I made what I thought was a pretty good deal (based on what the previous owners paid) for the electricity.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen, no one actually quotes prices anywhere on the web and you can't get an idea without filling in forms and probably ending up with a load of junk phone calls. Would any small commercial premises owners mind giving me a rough idea what they're paying per Kw/h for commercial electricity and gas ?

Cheers and thanks in advance.

Ally @ The Port Cafe


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Welcome Ally

I would be inclined to call your local BusinessLink and see if they have any statistics on business rates for electricity in your area.

Many customers have volume discount deals in place so the costs may not be reflective of the deal you have signed up to.


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## PortCafe (Mar 1, 2010)

Thanks for replying. Should probably do that but was just wondering what other folk's experience is.

It's only a small Cafe (24 seats and a takeaway area) and the previous owner was paying 15.7p a unit. I negotiated this down to just under 10p and seem to be using about 1000 units a month (or just slightly over), so it's manageable enough. Just wondered really if I'd struck a good deal or not 

Other than that, I love the Cafe business, even if winter has been a bit of a struggle, but Easter and the 'on' season is just around the corner (hopefully) LOL

Must also get my coffee sorted out too, been using a filter machine and an Instanta boiler/frother. Will I get banned from this site for that ?


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## 5M Coffee (Jul 18, 2009)

PortCafe said:


> ...been using a filter machine and an Instanta boiler/frother. Will I get banned from this site for that ?


Not at all.

Roughly how many cups are you making per day and how many do you foresee in 6 months time?

You may be able to get away with a commercial 1 group machine which is an economical option to explore

Have you considered using brew cups (like Hario V60's) or even Aeropress?

Do you have disctinct busy and quiet times or a morning or afternoon rush?


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