Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/73257
Maximize the positive press from your feature in ���.���������-������.��� �������� ������� ��� ��� ������ ��� ��� ����� REPRINTS Maximize the marketing power of your feature. EPRINT Give your feature a presence on the World Wide Web. CUSTOM PLAQUES Showcase your great press in a public area for all to admire. MENUS AND BOARDS ���.���������-������.��� STOCK FURNISHINGS JUNE 2012 �������� ������� ��� ��� ������ ��� ��� ����� � ��� ������ ������� �� ��� ������ ����� ��� ��� �� �� ���������� ����� ���� ��� ���������. ��� ���� ��������� ��� ���������, �� �� A������� ������ ����� ����, �� �� �� �������� �� � ������ ��� ������� ���� ���� ��� ������ ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ��������� ������ T�� ����� ����� ���� BY ED AVIS T time; go through the door and look around. How long does it take you to fi gure out where to order your coff ee? Keep pretending and imagine that you've ordered a latte ry this little test the next time you walk up to your shop's front door: Pretend you are a customer visiting for the fi rst and a toasted bagel. Is the person behind the counter able to make your order without running back and forth? Are customers piling up behind you as you wait for your order, or is it obvious that you should slide down the counter to wait? Now do you plainly see where to pick up your order, or does it look like you'll have to push through the crowd at the counter to get it? Th ese issues—where people order, how staff handles your order, and what you do aft erwards—are all essential parts of "fl ow. CID, design principal at Cafe Design & Architecture. "Th at is extreme, but you get the idea; in retail food and fast casual retail like coff eehouses, your purpose is to draw the customer in, get their attention, provide them with choices, serve them in a timely manner, and get on to the next customer. to enter the space and has no clear direction on where to go once inside, they will most likely just leave, " explains Ed Viser, " 12 | June 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com because they get what they want quickly and easily. "Flow matters because if a customer doesn't know where " A coff ee shop with good fl ow makes customers happy Deo Valente, their new coff ee and gelato shop in Seattle, they had no restaurant experience, in either operations or design. Th e architect they hired evidently didn't either. "I said to her that it seemed like she was doing the design October 2010 and heard a presentation from Tom Palm, an experienced coff ee shop designer and principal of Design & Layout Services in Wayzata, Minn. Palm's seminar addressed many of the concerns Brown had with her initial design. One thing Palm advises is the opposite of what it appears Brown and her partner attended Coff ee Fest Seattle in " Brown's original architect was doing: "When people start talking about the layout, I always tell people to start with the back— storeroom, kitchen, prep area, storage—then move to the front and back service counters, so everything positioned properly for fl ow, sure the fl ow is right and you have the room for everything." Brown subsequently hired Palm to assist with Deo Valente. "We began working with him on the layout in November " Palm says. "You need the back set up fi rst so you make NEW CHALLENGE When Carla Brown and her business partner began designing from the front door in and we needed to be designing from the back wall out," Brown says. "When you are building something from the ground up, the last thing you want to do is build in some problem that hits you in the face every day. 2010," Brown says. "We have a very challenging space. It is a corner retail space with one corner notched out for a covered patio, street doors on each side, a back door connecting to the parking garage and two very prominent columns that are incorporated into the customer area and service counter. Palm guided Brown and her partner through several " floor plan revisions, emphasizing the importance of flow in both the customer area and behind the counter. The final plans were completed in September 2011, and construction began in November 2011. Deo Valente opened for business Feb. 10, 2012. Brown considers the fl ow of the restaurant to be an essential ����� ���� ��� �� �� �����. Photo courtesy of Design & Layout Services fi nd what they want and then move out of the way so the next customer can be quickly served. "Th e overriding principle we hold to is that if a customer two realms of fl ow: for customers and for your employees. Each type has diff erent requirements. Customer fl ow Th e key issue with customer fl ow is that you want them to walks in the front door, they should know instinctively where to go to place an order and pick it up, part of the customer experience. "Flow is very important—it is the backdrop for the look and feel of our place, two posts became features really—one of them is built into the service counter. Th e other is an island condiment/busing station right in the middle of the café. It helps the customer fl ow, too. " she says. "Our addition to coff ee and gelato, Deo Valente off ers panini sandwiches, soups, salads, small-plate bruschetta, and antipasti. Th ey also serve wine and beer. Many customers now come in groups and linger, and Brown hopes to see more stay for dinner. "We created the gathering place we wanted, Brown says business has been growing every week. In " " Brown says. to put up signs that say 'Order Here' or 'Pick Up Here,' chances " Palm says. "If you have are there was a better way to do it." Th at intuitive fl ow comes by placing your front counter in clear view of the entrance, so customers make a beeline for it. Th e spot on the counter where you want customers to place the order—as opposed to where they will pick it up—can be signaled by being lower than the rest of the counter or otherwise being wide open. Don't make your customers push the potato chip rack aside to place an order! Another way to signal the "order" spot is by wise THE BASICS OF FLOW So what are the basics of good coff ee shop fl ow? Th ere are short-run reprints! Order 100 copies or less. Now off ering placement of your bakery cases. People expect to be tempted by your muffins and croissants near where they will place their order. "The display cases are the big beacon, the big June 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 13 For custom reprints contact us today! Call (678) 292-6054 or email cnaughton@m2media360.com. � A��� I����� SECRETS: Firehouse Coff ee Co. Bullhead City, Ariz.