February 2014 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 35
D
ave Lanning doesn't do anything by halves. Ten years aer
opening his very successful Dave's Coee in Charlestown,
R.I., he's now readying to open his second location this spring,
half an hour away in Providence.
But the slapdash, build-it-and-they-will-come approach
isn't Lanning's style. In fact, he's spent three months thinking
about, researching and planning for his second store, and has
even hired an architecture rm to help him.
"Our rst coee shop evolved out of a space we kind of
grew into," Lanning says. "ere are a lot of things that came
up that we realized if we'd done it a dierent way, things could
have been better. So this time around we're going deep into
making everything perfect for the customer and the people
who work there."
GUIDE THE WAY
Lanning wants the rst impression customers have of his
new store to be a great one. So he's making it clear where they
should go as soon as they walk through the doors, he says.
"is sets the tone at the very beginning and makes them as
comfortable as possible."
e new Dave's Coee will have a very subtle path on the
concrete oor, probably a change in color in the staining,
Lanning explains. He'll also do some very simple signage in
the company's standard graphics, saying "Order Here," "Pick
Up Here," and so on, to show guests where to go.
He has wavered over the signage. " It can be done tastefully
without feeling you're in a fast food joint," Lanning says.
"We want to balance aesthetics with function, which is a
challenge."
BOTTOMS DOWN
Lanning's also thought long and hard about the seating. Along
the windows of the new Dave's Coee there will be a standing
bar, and Lanning's found 42 inches is the perfect height for this.
Key is a footrest, he says, whether customers sit or stand.
"A footrest is an ergonomic necessity; it is just a natural and
comfortable posture for standing," he says. "It's one of those
features you don't notice when it's present, but, realize when
it's missing."
D L .
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