What do you want from a teashop?

[littleteapotandcake]

I'm at the very early stages of looking at taking over a teashop in a small seaside town. I would interested in finding out what you like or don't like when you visit or any advice from anyone who has done/is running a teashop now. TIA

Teapots and big china mugs. Fresh scones and real butter. Comfy seating in a spacious area. Friendly service, no big queues!

A willingness to make things allergy friendly would be helpful. So on your menu, if you have say ham sandwiches with butter but also do a vegan cheese sandwich, then letting your staff make a fresh ham sandwich with the vegan butter if requested would be helpful- so many times I take my dairy- allergic kids places and the only savoury option for them is the vegan choice which tends to not be particularly appetising to young children! As a gluten free person, I wouldn't mind if a cream tea was offered as gf but was provided with scones that I had to wait to be warmed up from frozen (if that's possible- I don't know how it would work in catering as opposed to at home). Also if you do allergy-friendly options please list it on your website- I will usually search places online in advance, even if I am standing on the opposite side of the road, to avoid taking 3 children in and out of cafes to find out if they can cater for us or not.

Do not put paper napkins UNDER the scones/ cakes etc... they just get soggy and unuseable AND half the cake stick to it!!

YY to this! Why do cafes do it? It makes no sense.

A menu outside, that you can read without having to lean over people sitting at any outside tables.

Menu font size, typeface and colour chosen for readability rather than fashion (not extra-fine light grey that looks elegant but can only be read by people with 20:20 vision under a 200W bulb).

If you have vegetarian, vegan, GF, nut-free options, label them clearly (and accurately!) on the menu so people don't have to ask. If you do this by adding allergens codes to each dish, remember to include a key. Label all the sections the same way - loads of places do the savoury dishes but don't bother with puddings and drinks.

Try all the dishes you serve. Try sitting on all your chairs for a decent length of time and make sure the table and chair heights work together.

At the top of the home page of your website give your address (with map), opening hours and menu (menu can be a link but no more than 1 click away, and not a PDF). These are the things I care about, not your 'journey' to opening the place.

Check your website works in mobile view, and with a screen reader.

One system for getting a table and food - either provide table service or get customers to queue first, order and then find a table. So many times I’ve been table jumped by a group who’ve come in after me when I’ve been on my own and still ordering. Pick one system and stick to it.

Make sure you and your staff understand different dietary requirements - definitions of vegetarian and vegan, processes to avoid crosscontamination, that 'dairy' means all milk products but doesn't include eggs etc. And if there's any doubt, always consult the book or let the customer check the packaging rather than guess.

I will make a point of going back to places that clearly take these things seriously, that consult the list, that confirm the order and special requirements when they hand over the item: 'Here's your coffee with oat milk and sandwich without butter' rather than just 'Here's your coffee and sandwich'.

No sachets of crappy moist sugar.. a nice small sugar bowl please

So how do you make sure the previous customers haven't had their fingers/ wet or licked teaspoon in the sugar bowl or sneezed/coughed over it? How does the cafe ensure there's no contamination? Or are you suggesting each customer has a small bowl of sugar that is then thrown away?
In our cafe, it's about 30 percent of customers who take sugar. Some like brown, some white and a lot have sweeteners. So 3 bowls then?

Cafe i went to last week gave us sugar in a small bowl, was wasted on us as we dont take sugar.

I wouldn't go into a cafe that had dogs inside

Outside, yes.

Totally agree with this.

Don't do it OP. I do LOVE day to day in mine but the business stress is like no other, I mean it's the most stressful thing you'll ever do and it's unlikely you'll make a load of money (just saying what I wish someone had told me 😂😂)

And warm the scones but don't warm the scones

Nope! Not worth the extra staff to stay open. There's a reason they all close. I used to be open til 5 but the 1 guy who would come at that time wasn't gonna pay the hours electricity/staff costs etc so I close at 4 now. Thad hours adds up every day for 7 days

Nice kids’ menu. But no kids’ corner. They always end up grotty looking with torn books, crumbs and broken toys. And it would also take up too much space.

Never tuck a napkin under a slice of cake.

What use is a gunky wet napkin?

Home made cakes is a must. You can really tell bought made ones.

It depends. Someone in my family had a job interview yesterday at a local cafe that does stay open. The boss said they have a second rush from 4 to 5 because nobody else is open then.

Clean toilets
Clean menus
Quirky decor
Background music from all over the world not just pop music.
Chairs that are comfortable and don't make a horrible noise when they are scraped across the floor.

Something to absorb the noise so it's not loud and echoey.
Something other that chocolate flavour med things. So sick of chocolate cake, brownies, millionaire shortbread etc.

Gluten free option.

Oh and GF option that doesn't just consist of a chocolate brownie that's half the size and twice the price!

If you are doing sandwiches same re bread. GF white bread sandwiches.

Can you tell my experience of GF options is always chocolate brownie or seeded bread - neither of which I eat!

There is a vintage tea rooms near me that has lots of great GF options and even scones. It's very popular with coeliacs and those intolerant to gluten/wheat because you feel like your eating with everyone else rather than being given a token option.

Good luck

Oh and my biggest pet peeve is teach the baristas to shake the oat/coconut milk cartons so that it mixes properly before using.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel mine is 3-4 then empties. Mine is an after school rush tho as it's kid friendly

Don't shut too early! So many times we've gone to a tea shop only to find they've shut around 3/4!

Honestly don’t do it unless you are sure you can make a profit. Everyone wants the best quality for the lowest prices regardless of your time and your staff’s time.

If you do it recognise you can’t please everyone. Recent failures around me includes ones that really catered for children, full area etc might have meant less tables and the noise was off-putting but this clearly works for other cafes.

Yes I can imagine it depends who your customers are.

There was an entire thread a few months ago about teashops shutting early, IIRC it just isn't financially viable for most of them to stay open after about 3.30 because of extra staffing costs.

I'd say make it completely clear whether it's table service or order at the counter. It's annoying when you aren't sure what's expected.