New coffee experience in SOHO

Is it actually possible to find a good shot?

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Postby Styles » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:25 pm

I think I have to agree with Ross.

Personally, I'd be looking to avoid band-aid solutions to 'pay the bills', and the inherent constant uprooting that it's likely to breed. First and foremost, however, I'd make sure I'd allotted enough working capital in my business plan to allow for the time and effort that building up a loyal clientele can take in the coffee game.

Again, I'd love to see a lot more places to get a great cup of coffee in London, but Soho (and much less Berwick Street) is not one of them.

All the best, all the same.
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Postby Narra » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:27 am

For me id look at attending events.

Ive run a mobile coffee business and have done the Monday-Friday business parks thing and also events and contract catering, and for profitability and ease of business (ie. daily running) events wins hands down. You can charge a higher price for your coffee, you have a captive audience/customer and little or no competition.

Another place to look which I found very lucative is film/photo shoot coffee catering.

If you have a sexy set up that is completely mobile, (ours was a converted new Mercedes Vito) then you have something different you can offer.

Also with events stick to small/medium events. The fees is lower and you have less competition, plus the crowds are more manageable.

If you still want to try the market, do it and use events supplement your income until you reach a satisfatory level. But for me if your struggling to find a decent pitch then events and contract catering is the place to be.
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Postby maurice » Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:03 am

SJeffrey wrote:...Many of the popular London markets (e.g. Leather Lane) only open for a short number of hours each day, and also only on specific days. I want and need a market that will allow me to trade 5-6 days per week, so that narrows down the list further....


Just in case its useful for the future, my office overlooks Leather Lane market. It runs 5 days a week, though only from about 11 am to 3 pm, but most of that time its absolutely thronging with people. There are a large number of take-away food places, most selling not very good espresso, and there are also several mobile lunch places occupying market stalls (Thai, Indian,Mexican and a juice bar) which seem pretty busy and don't serve coffee.
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