Facilities: Coffee Shop

As every LocalHub is a bus (and often train) stop, many people will be travelling through it and often waiting for some time. This is an ideal site for at least a coffee shop and in many cases more extensive eateries.

This section discusses:

• the Existing provision of this service: What, How, How Often, Costs, Providers and Trends
• the Proposed provision with localnet: What, How, How Often, Costs, Providers and Evolution
• how the existing and proposed services compare

Existing Provision

What

Since the advent of Starbucks, every high street seems to have several coffee shops on it - mostly offering light snacks as well as freshly brewed beverages.

How

These are typically standalone retail units where footfall is high - but are increasingly found within other stores - especially bookshops but also garden centres, libraries and the like. Anywhere that a lot of people visit and are likely to spend a considerable time browsing seems to attract a coffee shop sooner or later.

Volume and Frequency

Some people visit a coffee shop every day but many of us are only occasional customers there. Given the number of outlets, there must be a fairly sizeable market.

Financial Model

Coffee is not cheap in these places but they are pleasant stop-offs in an otherwise hectic day.

Providers

Several large chains dominate the high streets but there are also many - typically shabbier and cheaper - independent local stores.

Trends

The large chains must have nearly saturated the market.

With Localnet

What

The LocalHub is an ideal location for a coffee shop. Not only will people be visiting it to do much of their shopping, there is almost free transport to and from one's home so even those without transport and who cannot walk far can still come to the LocalHub to meet their friends over a coffee. Being a bus and often train station also means that many people are travelling via the LocalHub. Having library facilities within the LocalHub also attracts visitors who may spend hours browsing there.

How

Ideally, the coffee shop within a LocalHub is linked to the bakery/kitchens that are also providing food for deliveries within the catchment area. Freshly baked goods can be sold in the coffee shop as well as advertised online.

Volume and Frequency

A typical LocalHub will be a busy place and should easily support at least one coffee shop and probably other food outlets.

Financial Model

Sharing the kitchen and staff with the bakery and other food services means the break-even point for a coffee shop is much lower than it would be if it had to operate on its own. Likewise, the overheads of maintaining, heating and lighting the property are lower than they would be in a separate retail unit.

Providers

Coffee shop - and. indeed, overall catering operations in a LocalHub could be sub-contracted or licensed to specialist providers. This should fit easily into the operations of Pret a Manger, EAT and others.

Evolution

The coffee shop should be a day-one element of any LocalHub. As business grows, other food outlets are likely to be added. Being sited in (or very near) a LocalHub lets a business exploit heavy footfall as well as having a low cost, highly efficient delivery service already in place. Not having to set up or run their own delivery service reduces the barrier to entry for new start-ups.

 

Comparison

The table below assesses the impact of localnet on this service on a scale of -5 to +5 (details here)

	Existing services	As part of localnet	Score
Scope
Frequency
Security
Convenience
Cost
Quality
Carbon Footprint
Time
Resources Used
Reuse & Recycling
Landfill Waste
Other Differentiators