At our cafe we have recently ceased using the Freakin Customer Cards...I mean Frequent... The idea is that in lieu of giving away cups of coffee to a First World Destination we'd rather send assistance to Origin. Any suggestions for worthy charities
Read more…What experience/advice do you have that would be helpful in posting my retail coffee store business (18 years in same community) for sale on Craigs List? How would I write my ad? I do have a like business one block away and I think they would love to
Read more…I am currently in charge of starting a traveling espresso operation for my shop, and am just looking for some tips to get it up and running. we have a 2 head, single boiler (lack of money for a double), and are looking to figure out how to handle: W
Read more…I'm traveling to NYC, to watch the ball drop, New Years Eve... Who makes the best coffee/latte art in the city? I want to try as many cafes as possible! Thanks!!! PS. any other food/restaurant recommendations you feel like sharing are very much appr
Read more…Does anyone else out there have trouble with severely dry hands when using quats? We use this sanitizer at the shop I work at, and it's destroying my hands... red, scaly, sore, dry like sandpaper, and now an itchy rash. I think I may be allergic. Eve
Read more…Being that we have two medical schools, a law school and and business school located fairly close to us... we have an unusually high local and repeat crowd. Most of the students are pretty good, if they are hanging out and see that we get busy... the
Read more…2010 is just around the corner. With the economy still shaky, what have you learned from this past year to improve your business? and What are your business goals for next year?
Read more…Many people have decided to expand or diversify their menu. There are classic combo's like bakery/coffee or breakfast/coffee and there are newer combos like yogurt/coffee and coffee/bar. Are there combo's you see out there or combos your doing that a
Read more…Ok, After being open for a year or two or....? What would you do different on your next shop before opening the doors? I know you have all thought about this. I have been open for going on a year and a half and I think about it every day. I'm in the
Read more…I currently do not have my own shop, but hope to someday. I do like the idea of offering free wifi. However, I would get annoyed with those who sit for hours upon hours with one cup of coffee surfing the net, day trading, or illustrating their next c
Read more…It will be nice if all of us supports the local coffee shops when traveling (even to the next town from where we live). Personally, I do it all the time. I don't support chains like Mc'Ds or Starbucks. Support people investing their savings into thei
Read more…I have been looking for a location for a year and a half. I have put offers on a few existing shops and looked at lots of locations but nothing has panned out. Recently one of the shops I put an offer on, but was out-bid, has gone out of business and
Read more…I would like to hear any suggestions or thoughts you may have on how you are taking drive thru orders. Do you have a menu board with intercom? A separate ordering window? Any suggestions would be great as we are in the process of renovating an old ch
Read more…Hey BX, I'm proud to announce that as of last Wednesday, Eric Hammond and I have bought a shop in Pearland, TX. Our company will be called Pearland Coffee Roasters. We bought all the assets of Antigua Coffee House and we will operate the store under
Read more…Ok, I have a friend with a Probat whole bag roaster. He changed it to natural gas from propane was pretty easily. So my question: Does anyone know how easy it will be to change a Primo over to natural gas from propane? Is it simular? Anyone got any
Read more…Espresso Manager. What would you include in this description if you were to looking to move from the front of your shop into the back room (where the roaster is!)? I'll run the job by staff and if there isn't anybody up foir the job I'll post locally
Read more…I've tried to find some data on revenue per square foot. I know Apple is extremely succesful in their retail space with $4,000 per square foot, but most other retailers run about $1,000 per square foot. These numbers are for merchandisers, and not fo
Read more…Out of curiosity , In your shops respectively, what are some customer requests that you absolutely cannot/ will not comply with? Do you make a 20 oz caramel breve with whip? Do you pull a long shot? Do you make a 200? do you Ice the espresso or s
Read more…I was sent an email from Gina at Espresso Partners about a very special story about a fellow barista. I wanted to share her email and am excited to hear about Em's success given her special needs. Go Em! - Matt A Very Special Barista I had the ple
Read more…If I have only $150 for a grinder (not espresso), what would you guys and gals recommend? My old one just died and that is all we have available to purchase new equipment at this time...HELP!!!
Read more…