Upbeat on the Economy Some experts say the economy has turned a corner. Many coffeehouse owners agree,
and say their businesses are finally feeling an improvement. Last year, many coffee retailers reported sagging sales. But business has picked up a little for some, and they predict it will only get better. Specialty Coffee Retailer asked entrepreneurs across the country to predict how business will be for the rest of 2011. Their answers offer a ray of hope for businesses trying to put the economic dark cloud behind them.
BY PETER SUROWSKI
SOUTH
Huntsville in a house converted into a shop. The neighborhood is a touristy area with lots of houses-turned-shops, including several antique shops and bookstores. The coffeehouse offers locals an
inexpensive gathering spot, Sendowski says. Its outdoor stage has been the center of gatherings; its gazebo the scene of many weddings. “It seems like coffee’s inexpensive, it’s a
gathering spot, I’ve had people meet here and get married here,” she says. The government-centric economy of
Shoppe Huntsville, Alabama The recession treaded lightly on Olde Towne Coffee Shoppe in Huntsville,. “My business is going well, and I expect it
to get better,” says owner Cheryl Sendowski. “I’m not too concerned about it.” Her 12-year-old store—which has
five tables inside, 35 outside—sits in the Five Points Historic District in southern
24 | March 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com Olde Towne Coffee
southern Huntsville also helped shelter her shop from the bad economy. It sits close to Red Stone Arsenal and other government- funded industries, so when many businesses were closing and people were losing their homes, people were buying homes and moving into her area. “People are moving into the city all the time,” she says. Her business is slowly expanding, and she
sees no reason it will stop soon. “I have great expectations,” Sendowski says.
MIDWEST
The Garden Café Creston, Iowa
Business is up a little at times, and down at other times, reports Tiffany Gowing, owner of the Garden Café in Creston. “It’s hit or miss. Coffee’s a luxury, and it’s
not the first thing on people’s minds,” she says.
The shop sits in a town that popped up
around a railroad with a population of about 7,000. It is a rural community of homes, a few industries and vast cornfields. “It’s a very small town,” she says. “You can’t
get away with anything. Your dirty laundry’s aired on the radio every morning.” Gowing rents a space inside a florist shop
next door to a gas station and a cornfield. She does about a quarter of her business catering, about half serving breakfast and lunch and about a quarter selling specialty coffee drinks. She has to serve food because she feels she couldn’t survive on just coffee in such a
