If you are a coffee lover that has dreams of opening up your own coffee shop and you’re in the research phase then you no doubt have gotten some sticker shock. The cost of opening up a coffee shop is incredibly high. This means you would have to sell a lot of coffee to make ends meet. Many coffee shops don’t last more than a couple of years.
Instead of doing this, you can make a name for yourself and some money by doing popup coffee shops. This will save you money as you only have to pay for a short amount of time. Plus you won’t be putting a lot of investment into building out the space. If all goes well then you could transition into a permanent space.
In this article, we will go over some tips to get you started so you can open up your own popup coffee shop.
1. Sketch it out
Since you aren’t going into a permanent space that allows you to design it in a particular way, you need to have a sort of idea of how it can look in any space. Sketch up some drawings of how it will look in different venues.
This way it can be dismantled and assembled to fit each space and look natural and as if it were permanent. Pick out the look you want and then find the furniture that is going to fit the style. Get some ideas on furniture from experts like bar furniture Sydney designers Adage and make it your own style.
Make sure that it looks professional and cozy while also being functional for the space. To make a name for yourself there should be a consistent style that makes it yours.
2. Get Permits
Each town or city is going to have its own requirement for food handling, particularly with milk products. Make sure to find out what you need well ahead of time. Sometimes you have to take food handling classes which can take some time.
Talk to the city in which you plan to operate these pop-ups and they will direct you to what you need to do. Try to pick a place where you plan to do multiple popup locations so you are set for permits for a while.
These permits cost money so it doesn’t make financial sense to pay for them when you only plan to do it once in that town and then move on.
Check out this video all the way from the Philippines – about how to start a Popup coffee shop:
3. Get Marketing
The key to any popup restaurant is to create a buzz. Do this by using social media to your advantage so you can get a following that will want to know what you are up to. Then when you are ready to launch you have a market that’s ready to come in and consume.
Find out who your audience is and then focus on the platform where they tend to hang out online. Don’t spread yourself thin using social media networks that the person likely to come to your shop is not using.
