# Absolute minimum..



## garydyke1

..without a deep-dive into the detail.

To set up a coffeeshop, what is the bare minimum ballpark set-up cost?

10k, 25k, 100k ?


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## fatboyslim

lol...........Depends if you want Compak K10s and Slayers or used Fracinos and battered Super Jollys.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk HD


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## jimrobo

are you looking for barristas yet gary??!! Move to manchester...joint project? We can have stims on the bar!!


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## lookseehear

Probably also depends on whether you want to cook/prepare food, how many covers and whereabouts you want to set it up.

I would guess that it could be possible for £25k but that it wouldn't leave much room for error. Total guess though.


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## radish

Depends on what sort of cafe your going to run and the unit you'll be trading from - at a guess I would say around £15K as a minimum (if you buy furniture/equipment second hand and can get mates to help with fit out).

Think long and hard though about your menu and demographic though - the allure of working in coffee will fade if get those wrong!


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## hopsyturvy

I suppose in theory if you can stump up for a quarter's rent and deposit, a couple of hundred quid to rent a machine and grinder, and a couple of hundred quid in stock, you could start trading on just a few grand. To give another ballpark - we took a lease, stripped and refitted on a shoestring (mostly our own labour and recycled materials), for something like 30k. However we went under, partly because we didn't have enough cash in reserve to cover our trading losses while we built up our customer base. If I was doing it again, I'd consider budgeting to put aside the same again in cash.


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## hopsyturvy

Even if you're going for more serious kit, you can lease or rent nearly all of your big purchases, so long as you're confident you'll have the takings to cover it.


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## garydyke1

This is all pie in the sky at the moment, however I can feel impending redundancy coming my way.

Im going to volunteer my services to anyone who wants them in Birmingham to gain some experience behind bar , on commercial kit, and, get a feel for the trade.

Its the only industry / environment inspiring me . I wouldnt go back into my current job again given the choice. Life is too short to not be doing some I enjoy. Yes a HUGE pay cut and yes HUGE hours and hard work but what a reward.


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## garydyke1

jimrobo said:


> are you looking for barristas yet gary??!! Move to manchester...joint project? We can have stims on the bar!!


Joint projects are certainly something I would consider - there are people on the forum who could help this dream turn into reality. Moving away from a house which we love and took a year to aquire I would not consider at this stage. Birmingham is an up and coming city for all things food and drink, many suburbs are crying out for something non-costa.

My dream would be coffeeshop offering great coffee & a small menu of quality local produced food/cakes. Sorry to say it wouldnt be exclusively Has Bean coffee - most of the the shops in Brum serve it, although they would feature regularly .

Maybe a wine/craft beer bar in the evening offering small cheese and meat platters. My head is spinning with ideas & Ive purchased many many lottery tickets and scratch cards!


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## ronsil

It could cost at least 25K-35K to set up a coffee shop in the 80s.

Nowadays probably nearer 50K. Maybe lower with greater risk e.g equipment rental,leasing etc. or secondary position.


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## radish

I would consider other avenues as well e.g. Q Grade certification; working with a roaster in a sourcing, quality, marketing capacity.


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## Callum_T

Right then Gary,

Just been reading through this thread and the inner business mind's cogs got clunking and eventually moving....

So I had an idea, I was thinking initially about how trick your home set up is - and how integrating a home setup into a shop for teaching or showing people what can be made at home, and how to go about it.

Here was my idea all your standard independant type cafe in one area albeit a room or something - run a 2 group (people will wait for good coffee) - run all the local food and stuff like that to keep the instagrammers and foodies happy - all this is straight forward really...

Skipping on to a part that would separate any independant out to me and practically make me visit...

Here's where I thought your home setup could come in - and possibly another 2 group - imagine this is in a larger space (separate room or basement) - you could have meetups training -tasting nights - brewing testing teaching ect possibilities are insane - the second 2 group would be great for when it all gets busy and same with the extra space.

I don't know if I've really past the vision on - but think of it as a place to learn and for your usual morning fix - I guess my whole big idea isn't actually that big I just thought the integration of the super pimp expobar and possibilities of teaching could add something...

I guess it's time to burst out of cloud nine again :'(.....

Having second thoughts about actually posting this drooling - but I hope it's some sort of inspiration ... Meh


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## garydyke1

This is going to be a process of working out 1) Am I up to this challenge 2) Why do I want to do this 3) Will it work.


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## ronsil

That is absolutely the way to proceed. Do the research & the maths before spending on something you think you are going to enjoy doing.

My experience in the outside coffee world tells me the thrill can soon wear off & you are left with a 'turkey' unless you have an excellent business plan.

Anyway good luck whatever you decide.


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## garydyke1

radish said:


> I would consider other avenues as well e.g. Q Grade certification; working with a roaster in a sourcing, quality, marketing capacity.


All potential ideas. Will keep my eyes open and do some research.


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## remdex

Hi JimRobo, I'm in Manchester and looking to do something with someone. Why don't we get in touch and see what we can do? Manchester needs another great coffee house mate!!!


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## mitussis

I'll second that. Good coffeehouses are in short supply in Manchester and suburbs.


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## bdt

Hi Gary

We finally opened in early January, after almost a year of planning.... Is very hard work, stressful a lot of the time, very long hours.... but am loving every minute of it. How much it costs is the classic "how long is a bit of string" question. So many factors to take into account but, in my experience, lease finace was very difficult (i.e. - impossible) to obtain as we were a new start up. Bank eventually gave us a bit of a hand but took a lot of our own personal money and a lot of bootstrapping! We're doing well though. Takings in the first month about 50% up on what I estimated and we're not even open Sunday's yet.

Totally agree with Ron... you can't do too much research and base all your sales figures conservatively.


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## Glenn

Callum, you've described Prufrock...


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## Callum_T

Glenn said:


> Callum, you've described Prufrock...


Where is this magical coffee haven Glenn, and I bet it isn't even remotely near to me.


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## hopsyturvy

Glenn said:


> Callum, you've described Prufrock...


Ha, I was thinking the same thing. This is the place, come and pay us a visit! https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&cid=8623503146008355857&q=Prufrock+Coffee&iwloc=A&gl=GB&hl=en


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## garydyke1

Well , as an update, Im starting my research into this & giving myself until Sept/oct to complete a business plan.


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## shrink

nice work Gary









it's something I've been giving some thought to. I've been working in IT for about 12 years now, and have recently started to realise, I don't actually like IT !!

so this is one of the options I've been considering. I wish you the very best of luck with it!


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## The Systemic Kid

garydyke1 said:


> Well , as an update, Im starting my research into this & giving myself until Sept/oct to complete a business plan.


Good for you Gary, better to do something you enjoy. One thing to seriously think about is.....location, location. Sounds obvious, I know but I was in Madchester recently and got talking to the guy who runs NTP. He was talking about opening elsewhere and I asked if he'd thought about Chorlton which is quite boho. His reply was illuminating. He said Chorlton was good for weekends but dead a lot of the time during the week as most people work and commute to Madchester. So, you need to ensure you've got market potential that doesn't go flat for long periods during the day.


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## garydyke1

Im under no illusions , location is half the battle. Its going to be a scary ride


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## Walter Sobchak

Here you go mate 17k









http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobile-Espresso-Coffee-Bar-/251024043384?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item3a7232ed78


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## garydyke1

Thanks Walter but was think of a static coffeeshop in the more traditional sense


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## bronc

That's a very interesting topic for me! Even though I'm still at university and plan to go into auditing next year when I graduate, my long-term plan is to open a coffee shop. The coffee culture in Bulgaria is way behind as compared to the UK, US, etc. People are used to drinking Nescafe or burnt Robusta mixes. So far there is only one place in the country which sells specialty coffee but they roast very, very light and they are mostly oriented at selling roasted coffee. I think the biggest problem would be actually getting the coffee beans to Bulgaria unless I have a roasting facility as well. I am yet to meet somebody here who is as obsessed with coffee as I am..


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## ObsidianSage

Gary

Read this with interest as I'm still in the planning stages around 12 months since we met at the Extract trip. Excited to hear of your plans. PM me if you would like to talk further. BTW I don't have all the answers, but I'd be happy to share my experiences so far....

Dan

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


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## garydyke1

Yes I would be interested to hear how your planning has been going, its been agggges


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