With poor sales and sky-high rents, the casual dining crunch has taken its toll on some casual-dining businesses including Jamie’s Italian, Strada and Byron. We check out how two successful London coffee chains, Grind and Caravan, are getting it right.
Grind
Coffee and cocktail group, Grind, are set to open the first of its transport coffee-hubs in partnership with SSP – a company which operates branded catering and retail units at over 125 airports and 270 railway stations around the world.
Founded in Shoreditch in 2011 and well known for the quality of its coffee, the chain currently consists of five café-bars, four restaurants, a recording studio and a roastery. Following on from their first train station site due to open at London Bridge, the group intend to open a second site towards the end of the year and successively another three over the next three years. And, if that’s not enough, Grind have also set up a crowdfunding campaign with the aim to open a further ten new London sites in the next five years.
“The fundraising will allow us to deliver the next phase of our growth, doubling the size of the business” – David Abrahamovitch (Grind founder)
Caravan
Restaurant, coffee shop and roastery chain, Caravan, are all set to open their new ‘Caravan To Go’ brand in Fitzrovia this summer.
Focussing on fast, casual dining, Caravan To Go will be serving up an innovative, weekly changing menu of pastries, sandwiches and salads with a twist. Think ‘Twice Baked Golden Milk Crème Brûlée Croissant’ and ‘Tamarind and Date Morning Buns’ washed down with a ‘Charcoal Lemonade’. In addition to this, they are looking to speed up service by exploring technologies including semi-automatic milk-frothing and online ordering to improve customer flow.
Seeing a gap in the market, founder Ammermann says “The thing that really excites us about grab-and-go is that speciality coffee has so far had only very minor penetration. There’s a huge opportunity for Caravan there”.
Generally, the casual-dining sector is focusing heavily on food-to-go. With rising rents and limited space, the most successful way to increase profitability is to encourage a higher footfall of customers with a more efficient take-away service. Whether it means adjusting your coffee shop menu or changing your opening times to catch those morning commuters, be sure to accommodate for quality, grab-and-go food and drink to remain competitive.
By Charlotte Anderson
Opening a coffee shop or restaurant and need advice on brand or interior design? Let’s discuss your concept at hello@offbeatcreative.co.uk or call 020 7060 3121