Things to watch out for starting a new café

A

Alfroogy

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Hi all

I haven't been very active lately as moving into a new flat has been somewhat distracting, but I have received good advice in all manner of things from this forum in the past.

Anyway down to the cux of the matter. I am looking to start up a café in my university's town similar to wolves cafe in joburg cause there really is nothing here catering to students who want a chilled night listening to good indie music and maybe getting some awesome food for cheaply.

So what I was hoping to get from all you knowledgeable forumites is things I should be wary of/watch out for/tips/input of any kind.

Thanks
Alex
 
first you have to register with the gauvament (dept) somewhere coz you're gonna work with food. then you have to follow the rules set for that.
 
Cash Flow.

With limited catering experience, you have a lot of risk. How do you know how much food to buy vs how much will be ordered and eaten? With low margins, it will be hard to bring in excess cash.

Cash flow is the killer of most new businesses.
 
Venomous said:
first you have to register with the gauvament (dept) somewhere coz you're gonna work with food. then you have to follow the rules set for that.
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Spelling? Gauvament? Are you joking! Government. The sad thing is browsers have spell-check in them, no excuse.
 
Before you even think of registering, speak to the students, get info on what they would like etc. Then location, choosing a venue, kitchen equipment, decor etc. Why not start small in the beginning, offering an open mic night perhaps, where patrons can be served all sorts of coffees etc. I will start with perhaps some sandwiches / bagels etc in the beginning.
 
Still with the cash flow/expenditure topic: if at all possible try to avoid buying major (kitchen especially) equipment: battered and banged up stainless steel is, within reason of course, just as functional as new and shiny ..id est: hunt around your local secondhand scene to source as much as you can; keep an eye out for auctions where you could score the stuff you need.
 
Thanks for all the input it really is appreciated.

first you have to register with the gauvament (dept) somewhere coz you're gonna work with food. then you have to follow the rules set for that.
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Already looking into that and liquor licencing etc. They really make you jump through hoops for this sort of thing.

Cash Flow.

With limited catering experience, you have a lot of risk. How do you know how much food to buy vs how much will be ordered and eaten? With low margins, it will be hard to bring in excess cash.

Cash flow is the killer of most new businesses.
Click to expand...

This is actually what is worrying me most at the moment. The last thing I need on the opening night is to run out of stuff. On the other hand having too much and just letting it rot and go to waste will be even worse a situation to be in. Though at this point in time I'm at a bit of a loss on how to project it, at least for the first few months, unless I just budget in the start up capital estimates to be able to sustain expenses off (almost) no income for the first few months until I can gauge the kind of demand I'll be catering for. I hope that makes sense?

Before you even think of registering, speak to the students, get info on what they would like etc. Then location, choosing a venue, kitchen equipment, decor etc. Why not start small in the beginning, offering an open mic night perhaps, where patrons can be served all sorts of coffees etc. I will start with perhaps some sandwiches / bagels etc in the beginning.
Click to expand...
This is what I'm in the process of doing right now. It's actually gotten quite bad; to the point where I take a little notepad whenever I go out and take little notes of the kinds of things people order in bars and restaurants etc. As well as speaking to people on campus to sort of get a measure of the enthusiam for my idea and get input from them as to what they want. I have also started researching potential places to source equipment etc. In terms of Decor I'm commissioning art students to do works which will also be for sale as both a way of relatively cheaply decorrating and promoting local talent at the same time. In terms of food I'm leaning heavily towards Thai street food/ Spanish Tapas style as they're quick and inexpensive generally. There also seems to be quite a big demand for vegan food here (what I've gauged so far from talking to people) so that is definitely an option at the moment. The main focus will be obtaining as far as possible locally grown/produced product.

Still with the cash flow/expenditure topic: if at all possible try to avoid buying major (kitchen especially) equipment: battered and banged up stainless steel is, within reason of course, just as functional as new and shiny ..id est: hunt around your local secondhand scene to source as much as you can; keep an eye out for auctions where you could score the stuff you need.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion. It's definitely something I'll keep in mind when looking for equipment.

Thanks again for all the suggestions; They've really helped a lot.

Alex
 
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