Thinking of opening cafe in Seattle but I might be bonkers (Tacoma: rent, houses)

[elarbee]

Hey there. So my girl and I moved here to Seattle a few weeks ago with some seed money and loads of energy. Got no kids, want to work together, like to work hard but not seven days a week. With a little previous expierence we are thinking of starting a very very small cafe selling breakfast lunch and kick ass coffee/tea maybe near downtown.

I've been speaking to a few cafe owners and geez none are making any money, some are hemoraging it by the week!

Anyone here know of any cafes actually making enough profit to pay themselves a wage from it? Don't need names but would really appreciate any opinions or stories.

Cheers

[Inkpoe]

I would suggest you read the threads talking about business taxes. DT Seattle locations also tend to have a expensive rents as well. I would assume thatt maybe other locations like Olympia, Tacoma could be better because of the rents (should be lower there). And also keep in mind, the Governor does intend to raise taxes amid the bad economy.

[blueshogun96]

I also plan on starting my business in Seattle. I don't know much about the food and beverage business (I'm a video game programmer). If Seattle is a must, I highly recommend checking out the Seattle.gov business information page here: Seattle.gov - Business and Development

Be aware that Washington state's tax regulations may be different than usual, so be sure to make sure you have all the valid permits necessary to begin. Best wishes for you and your business venture

[Ira500]

Downtown Seattle does have very high rents and there are a lot of cafes around. Due to the economic climate, people are spending less, especially on discretionary items like coffee and snacks.
But...some cafes are doing well. A lot of places fail because they don't have enough money to last until business picks up, and it takes a while for a lot of new places to get established .
I'm not saying don't do it. If you can find a place with cheap enough rent in a good location, and you serve good food at reasonable prices, you should do just fine. But I'd look outside of downtown. Either some outside of downtown neighborhoods or nearby towns, places with lower rents.

[azoria]

There is a monumental overabundance of coffee houses in Seattle.

There are hardly any fun night clubs.
There is almost nothing in the way of tea. (I love tea)
There is only one dedicated spice shop in Seattle proper.
There is only one hat shop in Seattle.
There are NO (zero) perfumeries.

Do something different. Settle has a lot of needs.

(I've been looking for fancy hairclips since I moved here two years ago. Can't find them anywhere)

[sean98125]

Take a look at some of the underserved neighborhoods. There isn't anything like you are describing in Lake City or near Jackson Park, for example. Run out to Cloud City coffee in Maple Leaf and you can see how a good coffee house/cafe in a place where there aren't any could be a good business move.

[tobester]

There are hardly any sit-down breakfast places (some grab-n-gos) downtown - so you might have a good idea, but then again there may be no such places because the demand is not there.

[Skitwocs]

hi -
I have absolutely no experience in Seattle - as we haven't moved there yet!
But, myself and my husband run a business together (though nothing to do with coffee) so I do have some business experience.
It's all about keeping your overheads low - as I'm assuming you both will be working in the business and you may need little or no staff at the beginning (and you sound like hard workers) I would say go for it! We are able to roll with the punches, so if one month we make very little we just pay ourselves less. My advice would be:
- cut all your personal expenses to the very bare minimum at the beginning - try and save as many month's salary as you can
- avoid taking on staff until it's just not an option any more
- your main overhead will be rent, so research the area as much as you can beforehand - many businesses fail just because they are on the wrong side of the street
- never loose faith! - for the first few years there was a few times I thought I had done the wrong thing - I'm in business for 10 years now and could never go back
- get as much advice from other business people as possible - visit chambers of commerce, business networking groups etc
- find a good accountant - worth their weight in gold - although they need not cost a fortune
- find cheap ways of marketing your business - go out and give free samples on the streets - anything to keep customers coming in - and keep marketing the business even when you are busy
You sound like you've the right attitude to get you started - best of luck with it!

[eskercurve]

I would say if you are interested in Seattle to start up a coffee house, then you're "chasing a demographic" which isn't the way to go. You need to pioneer, especially when many Seattleites are already entrenched in what they drink. I would say, the only way a coffeehouse in Seattle would succeed over the already saturated market is if you have a killer blend (this one place in Japan was ASTOUNDINGLY good and still beats the pants off ANYWHERE I've ever been in the world, so something like that), or if you bring something unique to the table. I know old coffeehouses used to have debates inside them and book clubs and stuff. Get to know some musical talent maybe for an interesting mix (I don't know if many coffeehouses around here host musicians often).

If you like steak, that is something I SORELY miss from my roots in the midwest. People here simply CANNOT cook a good steak. It's always cooked wayyyyyy too much. Even Ruth's Chris steakhouse is abysmal.

[azoria]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

If you like steak, that is something I SORELY miss from my roots in the midwest. People here simply CANNOT cook a good steak. It's always cooked wayyyyyy too much. Even Ruth's Chris steakhouse is abysmal.

Have you been to Bueno Aires Grill downtown? Their steaks are amazing. _Buenos_Website