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Let’s face it – give people the choice of having a coffee in their local “greasy spoon” café for £1.50, or in the local Starbucks or Costa coffee shop for £2.80, and they will invariably choose the latter. So why do people choose to pay almost double the price for that cup of coffee?  And why are they prepared to pay more even in these recession hit times?

Well, good, trend setting interior design may have something to do with it!  And the fact that a visit to the coffee shop is a social occasion which people are happy to pay for.  So take advantage of your customer’s willingness to part with their money, and give them what they want – good design and comfortable surroundings!

Here are some tips for choosing and then working with your coffee shop designer:

Research the market for coffee shop designers – visit catering trade shows and ask exhibitors for their recommendations.  If you visit a coffee shop where you are knocked out by the design, ask the manager for the name of the design company. Subscribe to catering magazines, and study the design articles.
Remember, your future customers have had many years to become accustomed to expert design, and they will be looking for this in your shop.  So make sure you will have access to enough funds to provide the high design standards they will expect.
Do not scrimp on the design.  If you compromise on the design to save on your budget, you risk wasting all of your money, as customers will not return if they are unimpressed with your coffee shop.
Your designer should provide you with realistic costs for a design that can compete and even improve upon the high street chains.  Remember, your designer will have designed for many other businesses and knows what sells.  Keep this in mind if his quote seems very high!

Ask if your design company works with a quantity surveyor so that they can provide you with detailed project costs before any major work begins.  Arrange for regular updated costs to be provided on a regular basis throughout the project so that you have time to react if further funding is required.  Remember, many building projects involve unforeseen costs which only become evidence once work has commenced.

As the new coffee shop owner, you will be in control of most of the areas of your business.  In dealing with a designer, you will have to ‘take your foot off the throttle’ and trust in his/her knowledge and skills.  A good designer will be studying design trends around the world and will need a certain amount of freedom to come up with a fresh, creative design for your business.

Once you have the agreed design for your coffee shop, ask your designer to design the graphics for your company website so that it complements your business.