How To Start a Coffee Shop Bakery (12 Easy Steps)

Start a Coffee Shop Bakery (12 Easy Steps)

How To Start a Coffee Shop Bakery

Easy Steps to Starting a Coffee Shop Bakery

There are not many things that go together better than delicious coffee and a fresh, warm muffin.

Coffee and bakeries go together like milk and cookies. They complement each other nicely on our palates and also make great business partners!

A coffee shop bakery is a popular business concept that is sure to be worthwhile in your neighborhood.

In just a minute, we will provide you with the steps to start a coffee shop bakery. These steps will help you start your planning efficiently and cost-effectively.

First, we want to discuss the benefits of starting a coffee shop bakery, which we list below. After that, we will provide you with the steps you may want to open a coffee shop bakery.

Benefits to Starting a Coffee Shop Bakery:

Cost-effective
Convenient
Better quality control
Flexibility in menu choices
Attract more customers

Much of the food offered in coffee shops is baked goods. Producing your baked goods at a fraction of the operational costs will improve your bottom line.

This means more profits for you!

Over the long term, the savings could be significant. With wholesale bakery orders, you're paying anywhere from 30% to 100% on items (because those other bakeries need to make a profit, too!) In baking the goods yourself, you must pay for labor, ingredients, equipment, and various permitting. However, even with those costs, you will earn more money over time.

Offering your baked goods is exceptionally convenient for you. You no longer have to depend on another wholesale bakery or delivery service to deliver to your coffee shop on time.

It's more convenient for you!

It is a regular occurrence for coffee shops to be waiting on their baked deliveries only to miss out on their morning sales. Nothing beats more convenient and fresher baked goods than items baked in-house.

The ability to control your food's taste and quality will positively impact your entire brand, product offering, and customer service. For example, when you order from another bakery, you may experience inconsistent quality. By having your bakery operation in-house, you will be able to manage your quality in a manner that suits your expectations.

Operating your coffee shop bakery always provides greater flexibility to your customers in offering what they want. For example, you may get other suggestions from customers as to what items they would like. This flexibility allows you to keep your existing customers while attracting new customers every day!

Steps to Open a Coffee Shop Bakery:

The following lists the ten steps to start a coffee shop bakery:

1. Develop your vision and concept

2. Write a coffee shop bakery business plan

3. Scout out great locations that suit your target market

4. Determine what items you will bake

5. Determine your budget costs

6. Know your health department regulations

7. Understand what your buildings department requires

8. Choose the right coffee shop equipment

9. Find Good Contractors for your buildout

10. Hire excellent staff and baristas

11. Come up with a good marketing plan

12. Host your coffee shop bakery grand opening!

Now that we've listed the steps to starting a coffee shop bakery let's discuss them in greater detail below.

How To Start a Coffee Shop Bakery

The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Coffee Shop & Bakery

Open a Coffee Shop Bakery Successfully

1. Develop Your Coffee Shop Bakery Concept and Vision

Will the smell of fresh bread, croissants, and muffins fill the air of your coffee shop bakery? Will you be sending customers home with fresh baguettes or wonderful chocolates?

Whatever your vision and concept are, it will be your road map to starting the successful coffee shop bakery of your dreams.

First, consider writing all the different and complete thoughts you have about your bakery—everything from the names you would consider using to your menu option and location.

Consider what type of experience you want your customers to have. Yes, you want them to buy your coffee and baked marvels, but you also want them to have an experience too.

Settle in on more specific items of your coffee shop and develop an overall concept. In a nutshell, detail what your coffee shop bakery will be all about.

Once you have your vision and concept down, other essential things will start to take shape.

2. Write a Coffee Shop Bakery Business Plan

With your coffee shop bakery concept in hand, the next thing you will want to do is to have a well-written business plan.

Starting a coffee shop bakery is a significant undertaking with many parts, and therefore should require considerable planning.

There are many benefits to writing a coffee shop business plan. The most important benefit is the ability to articulate your vision. The vision and concept answer the “WHAT” type of business you are starting. The business plan answers the “HOW” you will get it done.

Writing a coffee shop business plan can be challenging. But if it's done right, it will help save you tons of time and money. In your coffee shop business plan, you will want to articulate some critical elements of your business.

Detailed sections of your business plan will include your concept, vision, and mission. The name of your business, menu, and location. It will specify your target market and marketing plan. It will also detail your budget, financials, and plan for obtaining funding.

For more information on writing your coffee shop business plan, read our article, How to Write Your Coffee Shop Business Plan.

3. Scout for Locations

No secret having an excellent location will benefit your coffee shop bakery sales. In fact, without a good location, your business will struggle to attract enough customers to make ends meet.

With such massive importance as choosing the right location, we recommend that you start early in scouting out the perfect coffee shop location.

Choosing the right coffee shop location means considering a few essential variables. First, ask yourself whether the geographical location is a good fit for your target market?

You will also want to determine if the location and the specific property are appropriately zoned for your business. Does it have enough foot traffic? In other words, are there enough hungry mouths in the area to make your bakery work?

Finally comes the physical space itself. While the actual space may be in a perfect geographical area, it might not be ideal for your business. For example, how much time and money will you need to invest in the buildout to make a functioning coffee shop bakery? Is there ample space? Does it have a kitchen, bathroom, and enough floor space or outdoor seating? Also, is the area accessible by car and on foot?

Start your location search early. First, determine the geographic location that makes the most sense for you and your life. You may also want to seek the help of a licensed commercial broker to help find a spot that is available and walk you through the leasing agreement.

4. Determine What Items You Will Bake

Decide on your coffee shop bakery menu. If you are a baker, you probably already know what items you would love to bake and share with your community. While this may seem easy, it may require a little research and market analysis.

Before opening her store, I recently met a coffee shop owner who visited the neighborhood with different samples of her baked creations.

She spent hours baking and testing and figuring out what items her neighbors loved. Not only did this provide some great information, but it also endeared her and her coffee shop to the locals.

Also, keep in mind that what you love may not be what your neighbors enjoy. Nevertheless, it would be best to develop an appealing and manageable menu for your business. Your coffee shop bakery menu will essentially define your coffee business. Take the time to determine everything you'd like to offer your customers.

5. Determine Your Bakery Budget Costs

Your coffee shop bakery concept, menu, location, and equipment will begin to shape the budget you will put together.

Before spending any money or obtaining funds for your coffee shop bakery, you will want to develop a comprehensive budget that details how each dollar will be spent.

A detailed budget will help you plan and prepare you to address the most critical element of your coffee shop bakery business: money.

Your budget will not only include the money it takes to set up your business, pay for a location, and your equipment, but also have the needed cash flow to pay for inventory, payroll, and other items.

For more information on developing your coffee shop budget, please read our article, Planning Your Coffee Shop Budget.

How To Start a Coffee Shop Bakery

6. Know Your Health And Buildings' Department Regulations

Every state and local government has its health agencies to play a role in setting up your coffee shop bakery. The health department's part is to prevent foodborne illnesses for you, your staff, and your customers. That means that they want to ensure that you have everything in place to offer clean food and service.

Your local health department will impact everything from your materials, equipment, and buildout.

You probably already understand that an outbreak of illness could be devastating to the health of your customers and staff. However, you don't want to be held liable for improper handling of food. Staying within your health department's guidelines will make your coffee shop bakery business much safer.

While your health department needs to sign off on your kitchen setup, they will continue to play an ongoing business role. For example, you can expect the health department to drop in for scheduled and unscheduled visits to ensure that you and your staff are practicing good health and safety procedures.

Your building department is another key player in opening your coffee shop bakery business. It would help if you learned early on what requirements and codes are before your buildout.

7. Choose the Right Coffee Shop Equipment

Now that you know what's on the menu, you can look at the equipment you need. Depending on the size and scope of your coffee shop bakery, you will have to get several essential equipment items, such as an oven, refrigerators, prep tables, mixers, storage racks, cooling trays, and baking pans, among others. These are the traditional pieces of equipment that many bakeries have, but you will have to get those essential items to make your recipes.

In addition to your baking equipment, you will need coffee shop equipment to serve your fantastic coffee. These would include choosing the right espresso machine, pour-over devices, coffee grinders, pitchers, and ice-makers.

Your coffee shop equipment should be commercial-grade and food-grade compliant to meet the health codes. Commercial grade equipment is often considerably more expensive than equipment for home use but is made of heartier materials that can withstand heavy usage.

For more information on choosing the right coffee equipment, read our article, Coffee Shop Equipment You Need.

8. Find Good Contractors To Build Out Your Coffee Shop Bakery

We strongly suggest that you put your feelers out there for contractors. These contractors will help you with the actual buildout of your interior space. For example, depending on your lease space, you may need to build a coffee bar, add a wall, install electrical units, and improve ventilation. Unfortunately, honest, knowledgeable, and reliable contractors may be hard to find, so start early.

9. Hire Amazing Staff and Baristas

You probably want to hire exceptional baristas employees to represent your business with your customers.

As a coffee shop bakery owner, you know how important it is for your employees to be honest and reliable. Your baking operation may begin long before your first customer comes in for a cup of coffee. It takes a dedicated person to show up at 3 a.m., start baking fresh bread and pastries before you open. Pulling espresso shots and serving your early-morning customers with a smile will make all the difference in your day-to-day operations and profits.

The quality of your staff starts with you. You have to make significant hiring decisions based on reliability, honesty, trainability, and personality. So start your search early for a great team – baristas, bakers, chefs – and cultivate employees who would love to work for you.

10. Come Up with a Good Marketing Plan

Standing out in your community requires you to think ahead to develop a good marketing plan. Promoting your coffee shop can lead to greater sales, greater brand awareness, and better market positioning.

Start with developing your logo and branding. Once you have your logo, you can use it to create fun merchandise products like t-shirts, mugs, and of course, slap it on your cups and coffee bags. You will also want to create a website for your coffee business and maximize your social media engagement.

While everyone likes to flock to social media sites, having your company website is essential because it serves as the mothership of your online presence efforts. Additionally, you don't want anyone else to hijack your company's name and web presence, either! Finally, you will want to reach out to local food and coffee bloggers and introduce your business to expand your community outreach.

For more information, please read How to Promote and Market Your Coffee Shop.

Steps to Starting Your Coffee Shop Bakery

As you can imagine, there are essential steps to starting and launching your coffee shop bakery.

But it can be a fun and financially rewarding challenge. We've covered much ground, so I will summarize how to start a coffee shop bakery in the list below:

Develop your vision and concept
Write a coffee shop bakery business plan
Scout out great locations that suit your target market
Determine what items you will bake
Determine your budget costs
Know your health department regulations
Understand what your buildings department requires
Choose the right coffee shop equipment
Find Good Contractors for your buildout
Hire amazing staff and baristas
Come up with a good marketing plan
Host your coffee shop bakery grand opening!

Are You Ready To Get Started?

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Coffee Shop Startups

Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Coffee Shop Startups is dedicated to providing you with the most relevant information on how to start a coffee shop business successfully. Over the last 11 years, we've helped thousands of aspiring coffee business owners worldwide. We harness the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of many successful coffee shop owners to help you increase your chances of success and profits. We support business owners who want to start a coffee business by providing them with valuable information on starting their coffee business successfully.