Pop up afternoon tea

[Notmytelescope]

I have found myself at a loose end for the school summer holidays after planned building works have fallen through. I am musing on the idea of setting up a pop up cafe in my garden.

I live in a nice (but not madly touristy) Devon town and there are other cafes locally but none with any outside areas. I have a big, sunny terrace with a decent view.
We are centrally located in the older part of town.

I’m a good cook/ home baker and we
have a reasonable size kitchen - with a bean to cup coffee machine- to work from. I also have 2 mid teen DCs who might be keen to make pocket money.

I am playing with the idea of offering afternoon teas / cream teas, rather than meals. probably room for 4-6 tables. I would not be keen on dogs in the garden (my cat would object).

Obviously would need to update my food hygiene, get certificates from the council and make everything polished and lovely. We have a decent downstairs cloakroom but it is only accessed through the house.

Has anyone tried this and what are the pitfalls? Is it just a complete pain in the arse for 4 or 5 weeks over the summer?

You need planning permission to run this type of business, it won't get done quickly, and is quite likely to get rejected in a residential area.

This place near me does something like this. It’s grown now but began in their lounge.

https://monturpie.co.uk/restaurant

Parking, if word gets round you are good you will get people travelling to you and where will they park. Also yes to planning permission.

When I think of afternoon tea, I think of either:

a. Special birthday celebration or anniversary at some historic house or venue with country views or posh hotel etc.
or
b. Touristy type afternoon tea at a cosy old-worldly cafe with home-baked scones, cream, jam etc,

Personally - I am not sure there would be a market for afternoon tea in someone's garden. Others may disagree?

Farms are much more likely to get planning permission as they tend to have off street parking plus diversification of income on farms is a policy objective.

Residential home -> cafe is less easy.

Parking would have to be at the town carpark - as it is for all the other businesses in the town. We have space for 5 or so cars but access can be tricky and I wouldn’t want the issues if cars got damaged.

You need planning permission for change of use. You can put the parking proposal in your application.

You would have insurance, including public liability insurance, for all incidents on your property.

Does anyone know anything about the 28 day rule?

As long as you serve the scones 'cream first, jam on top' you'll have my vote. Use some decent china too - no thick rimmed cups or mugs like they provide in so many places. Don't forget to provide garden parasols or shady spots.

Your local council knows all of it for your specific area. Best start is to phone them.

Residential homes are not usually covered - usually it is for a business premise to do something slightly different.

Your issue is change of use from residential to business.

Is your home a farm? Was it ever a commercial property? Is it a residential property in a parade of shops?

You can’t just start a commercial business from home - you need to go to the council and get permission and go through all sorts of paperwork. It will take you months.

You'll need to register with the council 28 days before you start trading. They will then send out a health inspector to make sure your premises meet hygienic and other safety requirements. They will also want to see an up to date Level 2 food safety certificate. And they will expect you to label your food, if selling pre-packaged, with the 14 mandatory allergens (nuts, gluten, dairy etc). Even if you aren't selling pre-packaged goods, you will need to be pretty sharp on allergens as this has become a bloody minefield. You will also need Public Liability Insurance. Don't even consider not getting this. I think you'll need to do a bit more homework and schedule this project for next summer. It could be a nice little earner but it could also be gigantic pain in the arse with complaints about parking, people trying to nick stuff from your house when they go to the loo etc and leaving your toilet in a mess.

I don't have a garden myself so tea and scones in someone's sunny garden sounds idyllic to me.

This sounds like the afternoon tea version of a supper club (where people host paid for dinner parties in their own homes), so I wonder if you could run it along the same lines, ie if supper clubs are allowed, then your afternoon tea concept also should be, without onerous restrictions like the need for planning permission. Id expect there to be limits on numbers of guests and times per year but that might work?

Have a look at setting up as an Airbnb 'experience' authentic Devonshire afternoon tea. AirBnb provide insurance and some useful guidance.

Security would be my biggest concern. People tramping through your house is very risky; there is a high probability something will be stolen or damaged.

Only consider this if you get a a temporary portaloo. Otherwise, I think it is foolhardy to open your house to the general public.

You need permission from your mortgage provider to start any kind of business from home where customers come to your property. You also need permission from your council and all the appropriate insurance and hygiene certificates.