Running a drive-thru coffee stand is, in many ways, easier than running a dine-in coffee shop. With a drive-in stand, you don't need to keep a dining room clean. You can rent a smaller space, and you don't typically need to worry about serving food, perhaps beyond a few basic snacks. However, running a small coffee stand does come with its own challenges, too. Space in the prep area is limited, for instance. You also want to keep customers moving through the line. These challenges can largely be addressed by keeping your menu smaller. Here are some ways to achieve that.
1. Stock two or three good-quality coffees
Coffee shops that offer 12 different single-origin coffees at once are nice, but this is a hard setup to maintain on a coffee stand where space is limited. Instead, you're better off stocking just two or three good-quality coffees at a time. Offer one decaf coffee, a good blend that you can use for all of your specialty beverages, and then one single-origin coffee you can use for pour-overs. You can rotate that single-origin coffee out every few weeks if desired.
2. Offer seasonal, flavored beverages only
Your menu should obviously contain the staples, such as drip coffees, espressos, and lattes. These beverages all call for the same basic ingredients — coffee, water, milk, and sometimes cream. As such, the supplies to make them don't take up too much space. Adding lots of flavored coffee drinks to your menu, however, will require you to store separate flavorings and supplies in your small stand. To avoid having things get too cluttered, only offer a few seasonal, flavored beverages at a time. For instance, in the fall, you can have a pumpkin spice and an apple cinnamon option. In the winter, you can offer peppermint and gingerbread coffee.
3. Track product sales over time
Make sure you keep a careful count of what you sell. Ask all of your employees to be thorough with this. Look over your sales list each month. If there is a particular drink or beverage that did not sell well, eliminate it from the menu. This will make more space for menu items that actually will sell and appeal to customers.
Running a drive-through coffee stand works best when your menu is small. This does not have to mean depriving your customers. If you plan and track your sales well, you can keep a tight menu while still satisfying customers' needs.
Share27 December 2021
At the beginning of every year, I make a promise to myself to eat healthier. One of the meals I struggle with is breakfast. I crave sugar the most during the early morning hours. Therefore, I usually reach for a bowl of sugary cereal or a stack of pancakes slathered in syrup. However, this year, I’m going to try something different. I plan to use my new blender to make some healthy fruit smoothies for breakfast. In addition to fruit, I plan to use Greek yogurt in my smoothies. If you’re searching for a healthy sweet treat in the mornings, consider investing in a high quality blender. On this blog, you will discover how to make different types of fruit smoothies with a blender.