Having provided professional Café fit outs to a number of satisfied customers, we’ve picked up some good tips and tricks along the way that will help you to get the most out of your Café. Below, we have compiled a list of features to be considered when aiming to utilise a limited space and provide your guests with an unbeatable cafe experience.
Choose a Bold Theme
These days, most towns and cities boast a large number of cafes, many of which may well be within walking distance of your own establishment. Therefore, it is important to create an eye catching theme that will make your business stand out from the crowd. When deciding on a theme, it is a good idea to take a look at the other cafes in your area so that you can create a theme that is different to that of other cafes and also take into account the needs of local people. Getting the balance right can be difficult and then transferring this into reality. This is where success lies however.
Select Your Colour Scheme
Different colours and styles work better in cafes than others and there is more than a little psychology connected to the colours that business owners use. If your business is promoting healthy and organic food and drinks then green is an obvious choice, while bright and bold colours like red and yellow work better in cafes that mainly sell fast food. You could also choose to give your café a quirky touch by choosing bright and bold 60s and 70s prints that will help to give the space a new lease of life or go for the minimalistic approach to suggest luxury and decadence. The possibilities are endless and many can be incorporated into your own café refurbishment. Relate any colour combinations to support your ‘theme’ for best results.
Consider Wall-mounted Lighting
Finding the right lighting choices for any Café fit out can be a difficult job, but this can become even more complicated with working within a small space. A beautifully refurbished Café can quickly become ruined without adequate lighting, so finding fixtures that aren’t going to overwhelm limited spacing can take some practise. If your Café has high ceilings, then lighting your business from up here may be the best design choice for you. However, if this isn’t an option, what other choices are available to you? Wall-mounted lighting is a feature often overlooked, but can work wonders within a petite space; they also provide you with a great way to upgrade a space and give it a whole new look. Having lighting fixtures on a wall can really help in opening up floor space and creating the illusion of higher ceilings; making the room feel bigger and less claustrophobic. This can be a great choice for anyone looking to get the most out of a tiny space.
Plan A Good Floor Layout
The overall layout of your café is one of the most important factors that you should be taking into consideration when preparing for a café fitout, as this is a decision that will impact both the look and flow of your establishment.
Layout is a particularly important factor for any business who may be working with a limited space, as a good floor plan can prevent a space from feeling too crowded or overwhelming. It’s important that you make the most of the space that you have to work with, and coming up with a well-thought-out layout can help to improve the success of your café fit out project.
Utilise Outside Space
When designing an inviting café, it is easy to disregard the exterior of your café. However, the exterior is the first impression of your café that any potential customers will receive, and therefore it is essential that the outside looks just as inviting, homely and welcoming as the inside does.
Investing in a dazzling and stand out logo to display on the outside of your café is a really wise choice to make. A well-crafted logo reinforces the idea of high-quality products, whereas an interesting and unique design on both logo and exterior intrigue customer’s, imagination and encourage them into your café.
The key to a successful Café refurbishment is to make sure that all available space is put to proper use. Any outdoor areas attached to your establishment can also provide opportunity for more customer seating, allowing your business to accommodate for more consumers. The more seating that is available to customers at any given time, the more likely they are to feel invited into your Café; encouraging them to visit you and your team again.
Beautiful Bathrooms
The quality of the bathrooms in your café may seem like a minor detail, but can actually work to greatly influence the overall experience that customers have when visiting your establishment.
Make the most of bold colours, unique textures, and creative lighting to transform your bathrooms into a visually appealing and welcoming aspect of the customer experience.
The attention to detail of your bathroom spaces will reflect your commitment to providing an exceptional overall experience to your patrons.
Breakfast Bars
When it comes to seating, trying to accommodate for a growing number of consumers can be particularly challenging; especially if limited seating is an issue that could be driving away potential sales. This is a problem easily remedied with the introduction of breakfast bars to your seating plan. Having heightened tables and seating lining the walls of your Café can allow for a room to appear much larger, opening up floor space and simultaneously allowing for a higher number of customers to utilise the establishment.
Mirrors
The use of mirrors within your Café refurbishment can really help when trying to open up the space. Giving the illusion of depth through angles and various focal points is something that could potentially become a very effective element within your design. While this does nothing to actually alter the size of the space physically, it will help to make your petite Café appear much more spacious than it is, thus avoiding making consumers feel claustrophobic within your establishment. Mirrors can also greatly assist in the brightening of a room. Reflecting both artificial and natural light sources in an area gives the feeling of the space being much livelier and creates a much more inviting atmosphere that will appeal to all potential customers.
Large Windows
Similarly to mirrors, the utilisation of large windows in a shop fitting can effectively open up a space, helping to create the illusion that your Café offers much more room than it actually does. Providing customers with an outside view during their time at your establishment can help the space to feel less enclosed, while also adding colour to the room and making for a great view. Letting the outdoors in can really help with making a limited amount of space much more visually appealing, and the use of natural light can also mean a more open look for a room. This is an element that can be very effective within any Café fit out, but is especially great when used within a small area.
Natural Elements
Incorporating natural materials, such as wood and stone, is a great way to enhance the overall aesthetic of your coffee shop. Natural wooden table tops, indoor plants, and a good amount of natural light can completely transform a space, creating a relaxed and inviting atmosphere that works to entice your customers, inviting them to stay and savour the experience.
By using these natural elements, you can elevate the ambiance of your café and create a welcoming environment.
Vintage Finds
Give your coffee shop a touch of nostalgia and personality by incorporating vintage furnishings into your design. Hunt for unique pieces that complement your chosen theme, bringing a sense of charm and authenticity to your space without straining your budget. These vintage elements will infuse your coffee shop with a sense of individuality, creating a conversation point among your customers.
Design for Social Media Snaps
In today’s social media-obsessed world, people love sharing their food and drink experiences online. Creating a dedicated space within your establishment that is perfect for social media snaps will provide your customers with an irresistible backdrop for their photos. Be sure to incorporate your logo or branding in your design so that others will know where to find you and your business!
Some of the most important elements that will contribute to the success of your cafe are:
Excellent Service
The services and products offered in coffee shops can be duplicated across establishments, but how the services are delivered is unique to every establishment. Aim to be swift in service, get the clients their precise orders, clear and clean the tables immediately after use, train your staff to be polite to guests and also offer your guests insightful information on your products to help them make the best order decisions. This will keep them coming back, and when they spread the word to their family or friends, you will have more clients walking into your coffee shop.
Involve your Clientele
You definitely set up your business with the knowledge of the products that you will be offering, and you already have all the resources in place to make these products. As you start running your business, you will need to do value addition to these products and a great way to do this is to involve your clients. Let them give you feedback and suggestions on how to make better cappuccino, how to make their best donuts, the new types of cakes they would like to be included in the menu and some new combinations for your menu.
Automate your Processes
Investing in basic technology will help you achieve maximum output with minimum input, which is the goal of every establishment. You can invest in an espresso machine that fits into your budget to help you make different types of coffee perfectly and using minimum effort. You should also have an integrated management system that will process your sales transactions, link the front office operations with the back-office process and help you control your food and drink inventory for example. This would be much cheaper and time-saving than having these things done manually.
Delight your Guests with Special Variations
Consistency is key to any business, but the consistence should not be a bore. It is advisable to have some variations in your menu from time to time. For instance, you can have a special muffin for Tuesdays, special pies for Wednesdays and have special fresh juices or milkshakes on Fridays. Let your clients know of these special offers from your staff or menu. You can call them ‘Chef’s Special’ or ‘Today’s Special’ for example.
Set Your Standards High
Most coffee shop owners will run their businesses with a lot of enthusiasm from the start but as soon as the guests start steaming in, they become comfortable and relax. This is a grave mistake and it could get you considering closing your cafe sooner than you expected. Make sure that you maintain your high standards of hygiene, production of quality foods and drinks, service of fresh products always and that your service delivery is consistent. Guest always take note of consistency in quality and they will keep coming to your shop.
While owning a small Café space may feel limiting at times, there are many features that can be utilised to make a room appear much bigger while also making it as accommodating to consumers as it can be. If you’re considering a new Café fit out, why not visit our Café Refurbishment services page to find out what we can do for you and your business.