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 don't actually mind if a gluten free option is vegan too, just as long as its not fake cheese

Servers/assistants in spotless branded uniform of some sort. Clean apron every day.
Hidden tattoos.
Servers who tell you their name so you can call to them by name if you need more hot water.
Quickly cleared & properly wiped tables.
A clean floor.
Spotless condiment containers, sauce bottles & clean wipeable menus cards.

Good quality tea & properly made coffee.
Really fresh salad garnishes with a variety of different breads for sandwiches.
OP, visit some decent & busy tea shops to see what the competition do well.

FWIW, I couldn't care less about dogs either way!

A choice of decent quality teas including a couple of fruit teas, plus a couple of blends of coffee. Decaffeinated options. Frothy milks. I imagine some will want vegan milk, although that doesn't bother me.

A choice of maybe three home made cakes, a few pre-wrapped biscuits.

Comfy clean tables, China cups or mugs, a good supply of serviettes. Cake forks.

The ability to pay quickly.

If the quality is good and the place is clean & cheerful, people will come. Cakes in Costa etc are dire.

Oh and Cakes that don't all have dried fruit in them. Please offer some without.

Friendly service, welcoming to mums and babies/little children.

Warm.

Good acoustics so it feels buzzing not noisy.

Real plants and a pleasing, cosy decor.

Plenty of room between tables.

Accessible toilet.

Interesting coffee options/flavoured syrups. Hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Bit of an adventurous menu, not just scones, omelettes and sandwiches.

Good luck OP x x

From being the friend of a cafe owner I can answer some of the requests:

Linen - Hugely expensive to buy/rent and laundry, not cost effective
Mismatched vintage crockery - Had this, hugely popular, but breaks really easily in dishwasher, can't clean in high heat. So many disappointed customers when they discontinued. Now have hand made pottery, but apparently not good enough!
Cheese Scones - All scones made fresh every day, always run out of fruit, sometimes have plain left, always cheese ones left, no-one wants a savory scone.
Dogs/Children - Dogs are way cleaner and better behaved than children
Butter/Cream/Jam lose - Again, way too expensive, too much waste, too many receptacles, too much washing up.

Yes. Yes. Yes. To handmade local cakes, freshly made food. You know what though? People always complain it takes too long to cook.

No dogs allowed. If it advertises as dog friendly I would go elsewhere.Others will have the opposite opinion but that's mine.

Freshly cooked home made cakes (for the avoidance of doubt not bought in or sourced commercially).
I think this kind of thing is increasingly rare and you could charge quite a lot for serving good freshly cooked cake with tea and coffee etc

Open until 5pm.
Proper leaf tea in a nice teapot, not one of those metal ones that leak. Pot of hot water for the second cup.
Tables cleared away promptly with no smears or crumbs.
Choose your table before ordering, so no risk of nowhere to sit once you’ve got your food.
Warm scones and butter at room temperature - not chilled.
Fresh milk in a jug not UHT in a plastic carton that’s difficult to open.

Hidden tattoos? Um, why? This isn't 1950.

1. Decent tea and coffee in china cups and mugs,
2. huge range is not necessary but do what you do well, if it is small you can't have 25 different homemade cakes per day
3. don't run out of stuff 2 hours before closing
4. if you have to close at 4pm make it clear last orders are 3.30
5. you can't cater for everyone so decide in advance whether you are dog friendly or not, whether you are happy to have folks working on laptops and if so are there conditions like you must buy food if there between 12-2 and at a table for 2 not 4, whether you are happy for 4 mothers and 8 kids to occupy a table for an hour+ with 4 coffees or whether they can bring drinks and snacks for toddlers
6. it is better just to offer sandwiches toasties and soup with salad coleslaw and crisps if that isall that is realistic for lunch
7. it is fine just to be a tea/ coffee/ cake & scones or sandwiches place you do not need to be a full breakfast lunch place
8. it must be clean

Good freshly baked scones and cakes
mismatched vintage China is always a plus

properly brewed tea and coffee

A good buttered, toasted teacake.

Attractive china - matching or not, doesn't matter. Chi-chi/ vintage non-matching is probably a good idea because of breakages.

Please, no jam jars to drink out of.

My local teashop/cafe does great soups, quiche & salad, full English breakfast, etc.

Nice cups and plates, clean menus, homemade cakes (or from a local cakemaker), soup of the day, toasted sandwiches plus homemade quiche etc. Agree to be generous with butter, jam and clotted cream for scones and don't charge extra (or maybe one price with just butter, another for jam and cream).
An overall cosy feel, maybe pictures up by a local artist and I'm not sure about the dog situation, I would err on the side of dogs only outside.

PG Tips or similar, as well as with specialty teas. Plus a small jug of extra hot water (once) if requested, as teas out are never quite hot enough. Also be willing to use customers reusable cups for takeaways.

Bread pudding.
That is all.

oh, proper butter and jam in bowels, not cheap little plastic squares that cost next to nothing. And never serve a cream tea (with scones and jam, without butter).

More than one gluten free option
Interesting loose leaf teas to choose from as well as the usual
Comfy chairs
Teapots that pour properly

For me, BIG proper mugs for tea and coffee, I'm sick of getting teeny tiny cups that I can not fit my finger in the cup handle and the drink gone in 2 mouthfuls.

Proper fresh cream cakes, I hate all these tiny slices of hard cakes, a big fresh cream doughnut or chocolate éclair or a proper coffee slice. No fake creams.

A toasted sandwich, God I love a toasted sandwich, I don't want these fancy in the middle of the plate 2 lettuce leaves with avocado and seeds and fake chicken shite.

No pets, sorry I love pets but I hate them coming to my table when I'm trying to eat and they're staring and looking for scraps and I'm trying to shove my food in my mouth without the dog seeing.

Definitely no laptop /phone workers, sick to death of being told to keep it down because they're on an important call or getting the side eye and the tutting and the smart arse comments.

Nice savory options, not super processed ingredients (eg homecooked ham rather than plastic slices). Nice scones but not too big. I find some big ones you get are doughy in the centre. I would prefer the option to have one or two smaller ones. Maybe an option also to have a smaller slice of cake, mini bun etc. I don't have a sweet tooth but go to a coffee shop that has mini brownies, bun, tarts etc. They are only about two bites but I love them.

Oh if you are doing afternoon tea please give the option of one person having it on their own. All the places near where I live only offer it for two people plus. I love my own company and a good book so would love a solo afternoon tea.

Sorry admittedly I have no idea how the finances work in this business so these suggestions may not be helpful but wishing you the best of luck with your new venture.

Spotlessly clean. Relaxing fresh decor. Speciality coffees. Tea in a big pot. Delicious homemade cakes cut into generous slices. Dog friendly (outside is ok). Friendly and welcoming.

No dogs please

Proper coffee. Good stuff not weak stuff that doesn’t taste of anything.

Fresh cakes/scones & biscuits

Nothing chintzy/old fashioned - personally prefer more modern decor with some nice colourful artwork & lush plants. If seaside town, maybe some retro prints from a bygone era. Also not a fan of chintzy China tea cups and saucers.
Proper mugs/cups that don’t feel like they could brake.

Comfy chairs

Natural light, music in background for atmosphere but not loud.

A little play area for children (my local cafe does this & they get mums coming in everyday for meet ups, good for getting those regular customers!)

Preferably no doggies. I like the furry pups, but in cafes with limited space, they often end up right at your feet, staring at you whilst eating.

A loyalty card. Something like every 8 drinks, you get a free drink.

Definitely a friendly welcome. I go to cafes/tearooms regularly during the week & will always go back to the ones where owners/staff members were warm & friendly.

Clean toilets & baby changing room. I’m often surprised by the lack of space in some toilets.

No dogs, no children, infact no people at all. That's my ideal café. Appreciate it may not be cost effective but you did ask!

vegan and gluten free food (both together are hard to find)
dog-friendly
decent earl grey tea