My parents have offered a piece of land to me that is along a busy highway that will be four-laned in 5-10 years. There is a large subdivision of about 400-500 homes going up across from the property, with probably 100 homes already in it.
I have considered putting in a boat/RV storage as the subdivision HOA does not allow people to store boats and RVs there, but I would need to bring in a lot of fill dirt and the lot would probably only hold 15-20 units.
So, the next thought is a small drive-thru coffee shop that my son and daughter could operate. There is not a stand-alone coffee shop within 10-15 minutes.
I am not much of a coffee person but my kids both love it.
So, if you were to put in a coffee shop in a place like this - what would you need to offer? Pretend that I know very little about coffee.
I would start with making your menu simple, for both the staff and customer. It should have your classics: espresso, cappuccino, latte, americano. And basic sweets like muffins, donuts, croissants. Once you have enough volume or demand then think about expanding drink/food menu.
There’s a tiny place in the small town about 10 miles away that is not much larger than one of the old photo drop places. It’s an easy off/on on the highway to Nashville, so commuters can just drive through. They only do coffee, espresso and other drinks (but nothing that will take forever) and tea. I don’t think they do food. Hours are like 6AM to noon.
There’s another one here in Nashville, but it’s larger and has some tables inside, plus the drive through. They do coffee and all the coffee drinks, plus some pastries, bagels, etc.
Then I would keep it very simple to start. Coffee and the specialty drinks, tea, bottled water. See if people ask about food and only if they do, think about adding that later.
Keep in mind, the last couple years have had dismal coffee harvests in many countries, and on top of that, we’re slapping big tariffs on some of them. It might be hard to stay profitable right now.
This is down the road from me. A shed, as you describe, with electric, drive thru, made order coffee and espresso drinks. Most mornings when I pass, they have line of at least 2 cars, often spilling over to the dispensary next door, which is adjacent to a McD’s.
I drink black coffee, so I am not a target customer.
Have kids operated or managed restaurant ops before, managed/led food service ops or similar retail?
I worked for an equipment OEM in the past, mostly focused on serving large chains.
2 shows may be useful before you jump in.
If your area is like mine, you may see lightly used in good condition equipment available, as many ops go under in the 1st 2 years. Auctions, marketplace, etc. have a good tech available to service any equipment.
Maybe look for a traffic count to convince yourself it makes sense in a model.
If you don’t come in with significant experience/knowledge of the industry, buying a franchise might be a really good idea if they like your location.
Have you thought about using a food service trailer? That way if it doesn’t work out, you can just sell the trailer vs. putting in any infrastructure. A friend of mine has a bubble tea trailer that he permanently parks in a high traffic outdoor mall. The trailer itself was custom made in China and was ~$10K 2 years ago with generator, plumbing, etc. Different equipment but basic build out for a coffee trailer would be the same. I think his is like 12 ft. long.
He just ordered another one, more now because of tariffs.
If you have a trailer, you could even do nearby festivals and such to supplement income. They’re pretty light so you don’t need a big truck to tow.
Thanks for chiming in. I hadn’t really thought of a food service trailer, but you make really good points about the benefits of using one versus a fixed structure.
And, if/when it fails - it would be easier to sell a portable trailer to the next sucker.
They are really big where i live. Check out this link and then browse the menus drive thru coffee shops moscow idaho - Google Search];tbs:lrf:!1m4!1u17!2m2!17m1!1e2!1m4!1u3!2m2!3m1!1e1!1m4!1u2!2m2!2m1!1e1!1m4!1u1!2m2!1m1!1e1!1m4!1u1!2m2!1m1!1e2!1m4!1u22!2m2!21m1!1e1!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e1!2m1!1e3!2m4!1e17!4m2!17m1!1e2!3sCgIIASAB,lf:1,lf_ui:9
Almost nobody does baked goods. Cold drinks are a must. Dog treats are a must.
There’s one in the next town over. They do all the “things” coffee as well as fruit smoothies. So they can do blended Frappuccino’s too. Small, windows on both sides so cars can drive up either way and have 2 customers at a time. It’s small, fairly quick and just beverages I believe (I haven’t been through in a while).
