U.S. Starbucks stores get 70% of business before 2 p.m. Thought that data point was interesting, and worth mentioning. Source: USA Today.
Brian Clemens It would be interesting for the indie shop owners and/or managers here in AZ to post what their percentage is from open to 2pm. I’ll say from experience at a few shops here in AZ, that the percentages I could estimate range anywhere from 65-75% of business happening before 2pm. So, my perspective both as a barista and one who would like to open a shop at some point is this: why stay open until 9pm or later, to only be generating 25%-30% of your business in 7 hours? (When you already have done 65-75% of your business in the initial 7 hours of business?) I’m soliciting feedback here. 0 Reply October 21, 2010
steve @ BC……Press does about 78% before 3pm. Factors to throw in are location, foot traffic and of course what the menu has to offer. 0 Reply October 21, 2010
ron cortez I have the honor of serving many coffee houses in our State and their numbers are all over the board. To be honest, that has been one of the biggest challenges of the coffee industry in Arizona. Here one rule definitively does not apply for all, this forces you to be very creative. I have found that coffee shops that focus in only one type of patron will always be tied to the seasonality of them (students, snowbirds, season workers etc). If that is your case the best solution is to have a multi target place were there is always something going on and make the customer feel that if they are not there they will be missing out on something. You will still get a morning rush but your goal should be to keep a steady flow the rest of the day. If you can sustain a rush for 8 hours then it will make no sense to keep open very late and your overhead sales ratio will be healthy, however if the rushes are not that long you may have to open longer as your cost of rent, electricity etc, are running all day and night. 0 Reply October 21, 2010
Nate As a coffee shop *patron*, I find it quite annoying that local shops aren’t open in the afternoon/evening. I’m not a morning person, so I rarely have time to stop for a cup on the way to work; but evenings are perfect for relaxing in a shop…which relegates me to hanging out at (le sigh) sbux. I just wish there was more demand in the north central area for nighttime coffee consumption :/ 0 Reply October 21, 2010
Alex Depends on exactly how you define business. Revenue, profit, drinks sold? Through working elsewhere I’ve found that morning does significantly more volume of drinks while afternoon/evening is less volume but more specialty (read higher revenue and margins) drinks. This doesn’t change the fact that mornings do more in all categories, but changes the percents. As for staying open, I’ve always thought that you should stay open however late can cover the cost of labor. 0 Reply October 21, 2010
Barb Harris 7-Eleven has coffee 24/7 and refreshes quite often. They’re doing “happy hours” right now where all sizes are 99 cents and you can customize with creamers, syrups, etc. I recognize it is not the “gourmet” coffee of an indie coffee shop, but it’s a great deal for a midday cup of coffee. 0 Reply October 25, 2010
Chris Tingom Barb: Your comment violates the code of conduct, since you work for a PR firm that represents 7-11. Please refrain from posting further comments of this sort. https://www.arizonacoffee.com/2007/code-of-conduct 0 Reply October 25, 2010
steve Thanks Barb…..your comment is well taken and I’ll continue to educated customers of how bad your coffee is. What a joke…… 0 Reply October 26, 2010
