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

I wouldn’t go in at all if dogs were inside.
I’ve owned dogs for 30+ years and have no problem staying outside with mine. I absolutely do not want to eat with other peoples dogs inside.

Decent scones!!! I hate the 'doughy' type ones, much prefer the ones that are a bit craggy, like a rock bun.
Pretty china. Unobtrusive but attentive staff. Good quality bread.
But definitely scones.....ALL of the scones!!! 🤤

Something diabetics can eat other than a few over priced salad leaves.

Something for people who are dairy and soya free - often this combination means there’s literally nothing on the menu I can eat, as the vegan options will all contain soya.

Allergy friendly options so no dairy or soya. But so they are good options, not just a plain piece of toast with a sneer.

Clean teapots and cups, most of them seem to have brown stains and aren't washed properly.
To be able to hear myself think, and have a conversation in normal tones, No loud music or screaming children, games blasting out, people yelling into phones etc.
A choice of savoury stuff and some low carb options.
Proper milk, not semi skimmed with no guts to it.

Definitely a teapot rather than a cup. Waiter service if possible or at least the food brought to you rather than trays at the counter. A place near me is very popular because you are not standing at the counter waiting for a range of different coffees ext to be distributed. Just give order and air down. Can have a chat while waiting. They never hurry you out but the table is always cleaned properly as soon as you leave. No coming in to find a range of dirty cups and plates still on tables.Evwryone loves it.

Dog friendly, or at the minimum a covered outside area for dog walkers. Nothing more miserable than huddling under an inadequate umbrella in the rain. Depends on your area though. If you’re out in a village or in a walking holiday area, lots of people will have dogs with them and want to get coffee and cake. In town, I guess that’s less important.

Decent coffee even more so. An actual barista machine, not one of those shit ones where you just press a button. And staff that can use it - we don’t currently have a coffee shop in the village, but we have had. It was run by several different people, but they all chose to employ this one woman who could not make a decent coffee to save her life. It was to the point that if we saw she was working, we wouldn’t go in. Nice woman, but awful awful coffee…

A gluten free option that isn’t chocolate brownies and that isn’t also automatically vegan. I hate places that put all dietary needs into one thing, as if we can all be palmed off with one cardboard tasting option. I don’t buy commercial GF biscuits often because of the palm oil. I don’t like most café chocolate brownies because they are sickly and also so boring because it’s often the only GF option. A place that has a couple of GF options that are home made, kept separate and a bit more interesting is great. Eg polenta cake, GF carrot cake…

Clean, smells nice. Not too loud. Friendly, reasonably fast service. Accept muddy walkers. Good homemade cakes (don't need to be massive, I find some cafe portions are too big).

Definitely no dogs. I'm allergic and the amount of places I can comfortably go in are dwindling fast.

Home made cakes, decent sized cups.

I mean I'd quite like no children but even I realise that's unreasonable. 🙈

Good sandwich/savoury options. My DP prefers savoury and we miss out quite a few tearooms due to lack of sandwich choice.

Plant milk. Not bothered what, just non dairy "milk".

Space between tables, there's a lovely vintage style tearoom in my town for themed afternoon teas... but I only went once because my size 16 arse could barely fit between tables and chairs, and we had to pull our chairs i to table constantly or even once get up and push the chair under the table to allow someone to exit the tearoom

I know more tables means more customers , but floor space is so important for comfort

Homemade cakes, not costco ones like they sell round here.
Tables not all close together, a bit of space.
Maybe coloring for the dcs

Comfy seats, nice mismatched China, choice of scones, teacakes, decent tea & coffee. Baby changing & clean loos. Please no dogs inside - they're everywhere & even though I like dogs I don't want to share for spaces with soggy creatures!

For it not to close at 4 pm.

Being open at tea time. We're so often out and wanting tea and a cup of cake around 11am or 4pm especially if we've been out for a walk or a day mootling around charity shops. Finding a tea shop that is open is impossible, they seem to open for lunch then close just as I want my tea!

WiFi. There's a decent tea shop near me and I like it in many ways but it prides itself on no WiFi and has signs up saying the same. It wants customers to chat. This means I never go in on my own. And neither does anyone else on their own.

Decent tea, not a tea bag on the side and cup of hot water. Gluten free savoury options, eg gf toasties and sandwiches.

Clean tables! I don't bother going back to places that leave crumbs, spilt drinks or trays of crockery all over their tables so that customers have to clear things themselves or put up with the mess. You need enough staff to be able to properly stay on top of this!!

Otherwise, for me? Really good coffee. Nice homemade cakes. Good vegetarian options (preferably not all vegan though you need these as well). And if you're going to provide salad with sandwiches etc, make sure it is fresh and good quality... not just a few wilting leaves on the side of the plate.

Flexibility around menus/options is always good. Not too much rigidity.

And finally, the thing that will keep me going back again and again is the service. Proper, friendly good quality service. The owners of my two favourite cafés are both very good at remembering people and making them feel like they are valued customers. The success of their businesses is as much about their personalities and the warm welcome that they give as it is about the food/ambience. Both also have a reputation for treating their staff extremely well, which no doubt feeds into the high quality of service.

And no dogs. I recently went to a tea room there was a dog that constantly begged for food. The owners just laughed it off. It was regally off putting.
Also don't want to smell damp horrible dog smell

Yes yes to open until 6pm, also real plants look nice and clean toilets

No dogs.
Good tea in a tea pot.

Option of teapot or single cup. I don’t really like tea in a pot as it’s often too strong and I usually only want one cup.

Decent coffee

Savoury food options

Promptly cleaned tables.

To save staff time, have customers order at the counter - that way they can see the cakes etc - and possibly collect from the counter too. Better than having overstretched table service with long waits.