San Diego was a blast. If you’ve never been to the San Diego Zoo, I would more than recommend it. They have what Phoenix does not: lots of hills, interesting trees, and cool weather. It was great!
My next trip is April 14th to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Expo. On that trip, I will probably have more time to check out the coffee shops and offer some comparisons to what we have in Arizona.
From the article below (from the Arizona Republic) I spot three new franchises opening locations in Surprise.
A new breed of worker, fueled by caffeine and using the tools of modern technology, is flourishing in the coffeehouses of San Francisco. Roaming from cafe to cafe and borrowing a name from the nomadic Arabs who wandered freely in the desert, they’ve come to be known as “bedouins.”
San Francisco’s modern-day bedouins are typically armed with laptops and cell phones, paying for their office space and Internet access by buying coffee and muffins.
“In ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ the bedouins always felt like they were on the warpath. They had greater cause,” said Niall Kennedy, a 27-year-old San Franciscan who quit his day job at Microsoft Corp. to run his own Web company, Patrick Media, out of cafes and a rented desk. “At a startup, you’re always on the go, plowing ahead, with some higher cause driving you.”
I’m going to San Diego this weekend for a few days. Anyone care to recommend a good coffee shop I should visit?
I just received this e-mail from Kim Sciabica:
Hi Chris!
I just wanted to thank you for the mention on your site and to let you know that Crave opened for business yesterday and so far we are getting great reactions from those who come to visit.
Sounds great and a must visit for the next visit to Tucson.
Crave Espresso Bar
www.craveespressobar.com
Phone: (520) 325-3637
4530 East Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85711 (Map)
Big thank you to all of Arizona Coffee’s loyal readers! The big news of the week is that on Tuesday, the Forum passed the 1,000 post comment mark. That’s amazing!
It’s helping to turn this site into not just a blog about coffee, but into a community. If you haven’t checked out the forum yet, now is the time!
For those of you not in the coffee industry professionally, we have a new forum category just for you. It’s designed to be a place for asking questions or talking about coffee but coffee professionals cannot participate (sorry folks!).
O.K. You’ve decided to start your own coffee shop and know you need to find a good location. How do you get started? First, take a deep breath, then get out some paper and answer the following questions:
Do I want to?
Starbucks is the world’s largest chain of coffee shops. Founded in 1971 as a coffee bean retailer, then acquired in 1987 by Howard Schultz, Starbucks has acquired and built coffeehouses all over the world. In addition to drip brewed coffee and espresso and beverages, Starbucks shops also serve tea and bottled beverages, pastries, ready-to-eat sandwiches, music and coffee accessories.
According to the company fact sheet, as of November 2006, Starbucks had 7,102 company-operated outlets worldwide: 5,668 of them in the United States and 1,434 abroad. In addition, the company has 5,338 joint-venture and licensed outlets, 3,168 of them in the United States and 2,170 abroad. In some cities, such as New York and Chicago, there are Starbucks stores located across the street from each other.
Note that Starbucks is the big gorilla that needs to be dealt with. They are so huge that every banker is going to ask you, “So, how are you going to compete against Starbucks?” In addition, unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars floating around in your banking account, you will need a banker to finance your dream.
Let’s address your number #1 question; do you want to be near a Starbucks? According to industry experts, Starbucks must contend against the belief – held by customers and critics – that the company will not rest until it has managed to completely corner the coffee drinking market. According to their public relations department and their annual reports (which I highly recommend you read) they claim that they only account for only 7 percent of U.S. coffee consumption.
Monopoly or not, those down on Starbucks often blame the proliferation of the company’s stores for the demise of local coffee shops that supposedly crumble in Starbucks’ ever-expanding shadow. However, industry experts and small shop owners alike question such an assumption. Nonetheless, many small coffee shop owners actually look forward to the arrival of Starbucks as the company educates and expands the coffee-drinking market.
Key factors that you need to look at for your coffee house:
If none of the issues concern you, than you are ready to take the next step; putting together your business plan.
To be continued.
Jeffrey Taylor is a licensed Arizona Commercial REALTOR® with S. J. Fowler/GMAC Real Estate in Phoenix. He specializes in the buying, selling, leasing and managing of commercial real estate, including warehouses, mini-storage, offices, shopping centers, retail, industrial, multifamily, and executive residences. Jeffrey can be reached at (602) 708-4981 or JeffreyArizona@aol.com
The Arizona Daily Star has a feature up about Globe, AZ and our friends from vida e caffe are briefly mentioned.
If you’re up for a cup of plain, no-nonsense, mining-town joe, try any downtown restaurant.
Latte lovers and others looking for a specialty caffeine buzz might drop in at Vida e Caffé, a coffee shop at 157 W. Cedar St. A double-espresso, with excellent crema and flavor, costs $1.50.
This afternoon I wanted to kill some time so I went over to the Cappucci Coffee Bar, which is connected to Ostrovsky Fine Art Gallery. I took this video.
I had a Espresso con panna (I hardly ever order that) and it was fun. The espresso was average.
I asked if they get a lot of customers, and the barista indicated that the number of customers has been increasing. I saw a steady flow of people come through while I was there (Saturday afternoon). I understand they close the shop for private events quite frequently (at night) and so it’s probably a big draw for their clients.
Cappucci Coffee Bar
7048 E Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Howard Schultz makes the Forbes The World’s Billionaires List for the first time. His rank is 840.
Arizona Coffee is turning 2-years old this month, and to celebrate we’re going to have a birthday party! Much like last year, we’re going to meet up at a coffee shop on Saturday, March 24th and enjoy a cup of coffee and meet with some friends.
Where: To be announced
When: March 24th. From 1 pm – 2:30 pm (or later).
What: Arizona Coffee’s 2nd Birthday Party!
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of coffee friends in the last 2 years, and hope to meet many more this year.
If you would like to suggest a location for this birthday party, please email me or leave a comment. Thanks!
Had this latte at Inza Coffee last week. Good stuff.
Eddie writes:
Just wanted to let you know that you can add the Coffee Plantation to your list of Glendale coffee shops! We just recently opened in the Westgate City Center and provide free WIFI to all of our customers.
Officially listed at 9404 W. Westgate Blvd. we are directly across from the AMC on 95th and Glendale.
What are some of your favorite Summer Drinks? Toddy coffee? Fruit based smoothies? Italian Soda’s? Who makes the best ones?
I’d like to find a commercial real estate professional with a lot of experience that could write an article (or series of articles) for Arizona Coffee on what makes a great coffee shop location.
For example, someone with experience may be able to demonstrate with numbers some of the benefits or drawbacks of a high profile (and expensive) location. If you know someone, let them know about my interest. Thanks.
