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Leave a CommentWhy pubs and restaurants should focus on improving coffee service to regain lost sales.
With the latest statistics collected from a survey conducted by The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) showing the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants is causing significant losses in turnover, restaurateurs and publicans are going to have to get creative to survive this winter period.
It should be no secret by now, the UK is a nation of coffee drinkers and regardless if you are a pub, restaurant, or bar you need to have a strong coffee offer. If you do not, you are missing out on potential to increase your turnover.
No longer can you afford to offer your customers a sad, poorly made, unloved cup of coffee. Or even worse, no coffee at all. Customers have too many better options available to them. They just won’t come back and will spend their money someplace else.
With a few small changes to your menu, your bar set-up and a perhaps a small investment, there is great potential to recoup some of the losses currently being seen.
Become a coffee destination
Think about it, you’re already paying rent 24 hours a day, so why not open the doors earlier to reach a new audience.
Where is your business situated? Look at your location and research the surrounding areas and residents buying habits.
Regardless if you are in a town, city centre or village, if you have a strong coffee offering you will be able to bring people in. You just need to do some research to make sure your offer matches your audience.
For example, for more rural pub locations, what local clubs or organisations exist in the surrounding villages that you can reach out to? Think books, arts, writing, running, yoga or cycling clubs. Offer your location as a pre or post destination for them. Because of the rule of 6, you will be limited in some ways, but reach out regardless. Ensure you have take-out as an option too. If you are linked to walking or hiking trails, you’re onto a winner.
Restaurants, you most likely have larger, enviable venues that make it easier for social distancing. If you do not currently offer breakfast service, why not? You have all the tools in place to bring in this crowd. Start simple, with great coffee and great pastries and build from there. This requires very minimal changes or increased costs.
Invest in training your staff to understand how to make a consistently delicious cup of coffee. Look at your equipment, in particular your grinders. Making a small investment here will improve your product and productivity.
A success story
There is a reason why the UK’s coffee scene has grown year-on-year for the past two decades. Coffee shop owners are constantly evolving and improving their coffee offering to keep ahead of the competition and entice new and repeat custom. And we just love it.
Successful coffee shops invest in the raw product, their equipment, their ambience, their staff and their collaborative offering. Their social media game is strong too – pictures of pretty cups of coffee are easy to share on Instagram.
Sadly, Pubs, restaurants and bars have lagged behind for a number of years and should now, more than ever, look to the coffee pioneers to learn from them and adapt alongside them.
There are 100s of talented, independent roasteries across the UK that you could work with to bring great and unique coffee offering to your venue, as well as barista trainers and consultants that can bring their expertise to your industry.
Take this opportunity to review your current coffee set-up, there will absolutely be areas where you can improve. If you are unsure where to start, get in touch and we can have a no obligation conversation about where you are at right now and what you could do to improve your offering.