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Original poster

What do you want from a teashop?

578 replies

littleteapotandcake · 01/09/2023 15:55

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

OP posts:
IusedToBeYoung1 · 04/09/2023 09:27

Late opening

LubaLuca · 04/09/2023 09:28

Loose leaf tea. I can't be faffed at home, it's a treat if I get it when I'm out (tea equivalent of a proper coffee out, I suppose).

I want to butter my own toast/crumpets/toasted teacake with proper butter. Happy for that to come in a tiny ramekin to save the waste of wrapped portions, but I definitely want to do it myself.

southlondoner02 · 04/09/2023 09:29

Decaf tea. Nearly all the women I know the same age as me (40s) drink decaf tea now, but lots of cafes don't seem to stock it

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EquallyDetermined · 04/09/2023 09:30

I don't want kids play areas or mismatched china either. I do like china tea sets but the mismatched thing seems weird to me (I don't like chintzy decor either), much nicer for it to be all the same set. However I also think it probably is impractical when it comes to washing up, so any sort of attractive mugs/cups is fine with me.

gogomoto · 04/09/2023 09:31

Oh and if the dog is with me I'd want to take him in, you can't be dog friendly and make customers get wet!

43ontherocksporfavor · 04/09/2023 09:37

@gogomoto why would you be getting wet? If I’m out walking my dog and it starts raining, I carry on or go home. It’s not the café’s responsibility to allow us in.

gogomoto · 04/09/2023 09:40

Though op I think most these posters have no sense of the economic reality! I run a lunch club (for a church) and you need to make the maths work end of, every bit of space is money so for instance 1 ideally 2 unisex toilets one larger with changing table and suitable for a wheelchair makes more sense than 2 single sex plus disabled or 2 disabled....

Serving gf bread and fresh cakes is only worthwhile if you can sell enough daily, otherwise have baked potatoes on the menu and many coeliacs prefer sealed commercially prepared cakes (longer life so better for you) to reduce cross contamination.

Kids and dogs are marmite! You'll never get an agreement here, look at your market, if it's in east Devon full of wealthy pensioners it's pretty different to a family area

PureAmazonian · 04/09/2023 09:45

Massivedicks · 01/09/2023 16:05

Or any dogs for that matter. Outside tables for dog people.

The trouble with excluding dog walkers is the establishment could lose a lot of revenue. People with dogs are always looking for places to go that are dog friendly. Any profitable business knows they need to cater for the masses. And dog owners have increased tenfold!

DeathAndParsnips · 04/09/2023 09:45

gogomoto why would you be getting wet? If I’m out walking my dog and it starts raining, I carry on or go home. It’s not the café’s responsibility to allow us in.

There's a difference between dog tolerant cafes and dog friendly. If you're actually dog friendly and call yourself dog friendly then imo you allow dogs inside or at the very least have a covered area. Likewise there's a difference between cafes that allow children but don't have a baby changing area and ones that are child friendly and offer baby changing areas and other family friendly accommodations. You shouldn't call yourself dog or child friendly if you aren't.

SalviaDivinorum · 04/09/2023 09:47

Home made cakes, decent coffee and no under 5s.

PureAmazonian · 04/09/2023 09:48

YouNeverCanTellWithBees · 01/09/2023 16:16

I think as long as you allow dogs and don't allow dogs you'll be fine 😂

😂

DeathAndParsnips · 04/09/2023 09:50

The trouble with excluding dog walkers is the establishment could lose a lot of revenue. People with dogs are always looking for places to go that are dog friendly. Any profitable business knows they need to cater for the masses. And dog owners have increased tenfold!d

That's true. In some parts of the UK that have a lot of walkers and tourists you'd likely lose a lot of money if you didn't allow dogs. I practically saw more dogs than people in the Lake District.

ginandbearit · 04/09/2023 09:53

If you're a seaside tea room consider opening longer than 4-4.30, so many seem to close then ..may be a reason but has been frustrating at times ..

sashh · 04/09/2023 09:53

Tea pots that actually pour in to a cup not all over the table.

Proper coffee not instant.

Small discount for people who bring their own travel mug.

If it is somewhere people go walking then packed lunches, actually you could do that for people going to the beach. Years ago I went ot a place that did flasks of hot drinks with a deposit on the flask, I'm not sure how well that would work with everyone having their own travel mugs.

Something that is not carbs, hummus and veg or maybe a soup.

Having said something no carb I do like it in the Netherlands / belgium where every coffee comes with a small biscuit or chocolate.

One thing I liked in south america was that you got a glass of water with your coffee.

Everything home made.

Maltaw · 04/09/2023 09:54

No dogs inside. They can smell.

Maybe no kids is a step too far though 😂

Clean, actually properly clean. A lot of coffee shops are dirty.

Not too crowded. Think about noise? Soft furnishings and wall finishes can help minimise noise if it's a problem.

LunaLoveFood · 04/09/2023 10:00

Some gluten free options.

Abbyant · 04/09/2023 10:58

Nice root vegetables soups with a hearty piece of bread and butter, a choice of plain or fruit scones with clotted cream and jam. Clean none chipped cups and plates nothing puts me off more then being given a chipped cup.

43ontherocksporfavor · 04/09/2023 11:01

I always had a little daydream of running a seaside cafe but reading and contributing to this thread has put me right off!!!
Basically op do what you want and see how it goes then you can adjust depending on custom.

Willmafrockfit · 04/09/2023 11:43

with dd and her friend we went to a quaint village nearby and wanted a cream tea, the one we went to, beautiful garden, did not have vegan, however they rung a tea shop down the road who made them
we went there, it was so lovely, made vegan scones, had mismatching tea service, went there a couple more times, all before covid

wanted to go back there this year, it had unfortunately closed - turned into a barely open antique shop,
and this is in a tourist hot spot.
good luck op

43ontherocksporfavor · 04/09/2023 13:18

Thing is having vegan or gf versions available daily can lead to a lot of waste. Not good business sense in some areas.

shadypines · 04/09/2023 13:23

Either a quiet zone or periods in the day people know they can come in and NOT have to suffer listening to (usually loud) music.
I was looking for a quiet place to sit and have a drink recently and I must have tried about 4 or 5 places but all were blaring out music.

43ontherocksporfavor · 04/09/2023 13:27

@shadypines thats really unrealistic. If you want peace bring a flask to the park or stay at home!

DeathAndParsnips · 04/09/2023 13:29

Why is no music unrealistic? I've been in plenty of cafes that didn't have music playing.

SirChenjins · 04/09/2023 13:32

43ontherocksporfavor · 04/09/2023 13:27

@shadypines thats really unrealistic. If you want peace bring a flask to the park or stay at home!

Unrealistic? I’ve been in plenty of (busy) cafes that don’t play music - maybe customer preference, maybe they don’t want to pay for the licence, who knows, but it’s certainly not unusual or unrealistic.

RedPanda2022 · 04/09/2023 13:38

Delicious fresh scones.
range of cold drinks (standard stuff is fine) for those who don’t want tea/coffee
I don’t care what the crockery is like but free Wi-Fi is definitely a plus in places round here

I am not a dog fan to be honest but I guess you need to consider your local situation and likely customer base to decide on that detail.

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