If We Opened Another Cafe Tomorrow, We'd Do These Things From Day One

This is the article you read when you are committed and serious about succeeding in hospitality. Read the following blog and take in every word - I was very honest, maybe a little too honest. 

People ask us from time to time what we'd do differently if we ever opened another cafe.

It's a question we love because, if we're honest, we'd do a lot of things differently.

Not because we regret how we started. Far from it. Every mistake taught us something and every challenge shaped the way we think about coffee, hospitality and business today. But experience has a funny way of changing your priorities. The things we thought mattered most when we bought our first cafe in 2017 aren't necessarily the things we'd spend our money or energy on now.

But one thing hasn't changed.

We've always been obsessed with consistency.

We just didn't know that's what it was.

From the very beginning, the three of us (Dad, Chelsea and myself) all made coffee the same way. There was never a conversation about it. No written recipes. No formal training. We just silently knew what good looked like and held ourselves to it every single time.

It wasn't until we started training other people on bar that we realised how much of what we were doing lived in our heads.

We'd say things like "that shot doesn't look right" or "that milk isn't quite there," but when someone asked why, we had to stop and think. We had to break down instincts into steps. We had to explain things we'd never needed to explain before.

That's when it clicked.

If we couldn't clearly explain what we expected, we couldn't expect anyone else to consistently deliver it.

That's when we realised we needed systems.

If someone handed us the keys to an empty cafe tomorrow, that's still where we'd start.

The very first thing we'd build wouldn't be the coffee menu.

It wouldn't even be the coffee bar.

It would be the systems.

Looking back, this is probably the biggest lesson we've learnt after years of owning cafes and now working with wholesale customers. Great coffee doesn't happen because you've hired one brilliant barista. It happens because you've built a business where everybody knows exactly what great looks like. And that only happens when you refuse to cut corners and hold uncompromising standards, because it's those standards that ultimately make coffee feel simple and consistent day after day.

Recipes are written down, opening procedures are documented, cleaning schedules aren't optional, and everyone knows who's responsible for dialling in the grinder each morning as well as what to do when the coffee starts running differently throughout the day; when systems are clear, good people become great baristas, and without these systems, even great baristas eventually become inconsistent.

The next thing we'd spend money on isn't what most people expect.

It wouldn't be the espresso machine.

It would be the grinder.

If you've got a limited budget, buy the best grinder you can comfortably afford and then buy the espresso machine that fits what's left. That probably sounds strange coming from people who spend their lives around coffee equipment, but we've seen too many cafes with beautiful machines sitting next to grinders that simply can't produce a consistent grind. Espresso machines don't create consistency. Grinders do. In saying that, we still always try to push for a new, reliable La Marzocco or Sanremo. Grinder and burrs come first, but a good, reliable espresso machine is still very high up there.

After that, we'd become almost obsessive about looking after the equipment.

This is one area where so many cafes unknowingly lose quality. Burrs wear out gradually, so you don't notice the decline from one day to the next. Water filters don't get replaced on time. Steam wands don't get cleaned properly. Group seals leak for months before someone decides to fix them. None of those things ruin your coffee overnight, but together they slowly chip away at the experience you're giving your customers.

Equipment is expensive, but neglect ends up costing you twice.

Then we'd choose our coffee.

This probably sounds like the part where we're supposed to tell you to buy Moon Boy coffee.

Truthfully, we'd tell you to buy coffee from a roaster whose standards genuinely align with yours, whether that's us or someone else. Find people who care about quality as much as you do, who are willing to have honest conversations, who support your business and who are as invested in your success as you are.

Once you've found those people, stick with them and invest in the relationship. Building strong partnerships takes time, so nurture them and grow alongside your suppliers. Don’t walk away after one difficult moment - learn to communicate openly and work through challenges so you both come out stronger. It goes both ways for customer and supplier. We've had relationships that started with a bit of friction but, through patience and understanding, have become solid over time. Of course, don’t let yourself be taken advantage of, but remember that most people are trying to do the right thing - just like you.

We'd also spend more on milk than we used to.

That might surprise people.

When we bought our first cafe we actually had access to some of the best milk available. We even used full fat, unhomogenised milk with a thick layer of cream that had to be mixed back in every time you opened a new bottle. It tasted incredible, but the logistics of constantly mixing that cream made it difficult to sustain in a busy cafe environment. These days, we use Norco Capo Barista Milk and still do to this day.

Find a local dairy if you can, spend more than what you think you should. Your end result will better than expect. 

The same goes for syrups.

We'd never choose a syrup simply because another cafe uses it or because it's the cheapest option. We'd sit down with our coffee, taste different brands and find one that genuinely complements what we're serving. Every coffee has its own sweetness, acidity and body, and some syrups work with that while others fight against it.

That little bit of effort makes a bigger difference than most people realise.

One thing we'd never stop doing is training.

Not once. Not when someone starts. Every single week.

Coffee changes every day. Humidity changes. Coffee ages. New staff join the team. Even experienced baristas pick up bad habits over time. The best cafes we've seen don't treat training as something you finish. They treat it as part of the job.

Taste coffee together.

Ask questions.

Challenge each other.

Keep learning.

Because the day you think you've mastered coffee is probably the day you stop improving.

Finally, we'd spend more time building a culture than building a menu.

Looking back, that's probably the thing we're proudest of from our years owning cafes.

Customers came for coffee but they always came back for of people.

You can buy the best espresso machine in the world, source incredible coffee and write perfect systems, but if your team doesn't care about the customer standing in front of them, none of it matters.

In the wise and famous words of Maya Angelou, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." And that goes the same here, if you don't make your community feel welcomed, well say goodbye to your business. 

If there's one thing we'd want every new cafe owner to take away from this article, it's that great coffee is never the result of one brilliant decision. But rather the hundreds of small decisions, made consistently, every single day.

That's what customers taste. Not the espresso machine or the grinder and its not even the coffee.

They taste the care behind every decision that came before it.

Looking back, that's probably the biggest lesson we learnt from owning a cafe.

Great coffee isn't built on one thing - It's built on everything.