CafeBuyer-2020

5 STATE OF PLAY specialityfoodmagazine.com is the big factor right now, but it also saves money on the operations side of things too.” Rethink... Elsewhere, finding newways of working has been liberating. “In terms of our objectives, many have been ramped up,” says Henry Ayers of London’s The Gentlemen Baristas. “Plans that were months down the line are now verymuch on the table. We’re changing our priorities and looking into simplifying our offering.” Like many other businesses, Henry has found the last fewmonths have bonded his teams together. “We’re really proud that we remained a solid family. We may not have seen each other for months but endeavoured to stay in touch with every single person which has been great for keeping up teammorale.” Refocus... The odd sense of being on a ‘war footing’ – heightened by news of distilleries switching production from spirits to sanitiser – has changed the way customers interact with the businesses around us. As the pandemic continues its endless progress, your café, like the retail element of your businesses, may have a new public service purpose. For Jasmine Wythe of Peasbodys Coffee, an independent that operates six sites at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, this purpose has come into sharp focus. “Our staff were able to keep our customers’ spirits up,” she says, “and we know from feedback how grateful our customers were to be able to grab a homemade hot toasted ciabatta or fresh fruit salad when all other coffee shops were The business has transitioned from a 20-cover café and bakery to a deli with a great coffee offer during the pandemic, and the evolution doesn’t stop there “The pandemic has brought about some changes that we’d thought about previously, but never acted on,” says James Ratcliffe, who runs the Three Hares with partner Nina Matsunaga. “It’s given us a chance to experiment a little CASE STUDY: THREE HARES, SEDBURGH bit, and I’m not sure we’ll go back. To reopen the café at a metre apart didn’t seem right. We’d thought about a farm shop/deli concept and this was an opportunity to try it out. We’d been selling a few things online, – ethical butchery and charcuterie – so when we got to the other side of lockdown we decided to reopen as a shop. We thought that’d be nice and easy. Actually there was a lot to think about logistically. It was a work in progress when it opened and we’re changing still, but now we’re making the same money as before but with one staff member instead of three.” “Making good coffee has always been central to what we do. If you can’t get the coffee right you might as well shut the doors. It draws people in; it’s a good hook, and once they’re here they buy some other bits. Doing it right is about training our people, using the right equipment (or us the Sanremo Café Racer) and good coffee. We use Carveti, who have a real passion and are like-minded to us. Coffee is such a central product, particularly to a café, so you have to get it right.” Threeways to change up your offer EVALUATE DELIVERY Table service? Tray slide self-service counter? Online ordering? With customers primed for change, there’s never been a better time to reshape your café format to minimise queueing and lower staffing costs. EMBRACE VEGAN Plant-based choices are a strong option, with research from market analysts Mintel showing that Covid-19 pandemic has made a vegan diet even more appealing to young British millennials. Now’s a great time to experiment with your menu, and see how it affects turnover. CONSIDER LOCATION The Centre for Cities’ high street recovery tracker is a good place to learn about footfall trends. Suffering at your current location? Mobile stalls and short-lease kiosks could be a mid-term solution as the long-term picture emerges. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS closed. There really is something to be said about having somebody else make lunch for you on a tough day. That’s why we feel that good coffee shops are here to stay, as hard as it might be for some right now. It’s not all about the coffee or the sandwich, it’s about the service and respite in the day.” SARAH HEWARD, REAL FOOD CAF É JAMES RADCLIFFE & NINA MATSUNAGA