What goes together better than coffee and a cigarette? There’s something about the combination that just says relaxation, downtime, a well-deserved break in a hectic day. And that truism, in turn, suggests that a coffee stand or, if you’ve got the room, coffee lounge is a great way for a tobacco outlet to branch into a new business.
After all, Starbucks and Starbucks clones are pretty much everywhere. They all have $5-and-up cups of coffee with fancy names and permutations of foam and flavoring. They all have lines at the counter and, most importantly, they often frown upon or—thanks to town and city no-smoking ordinances—ban outright smoking. In fact, the smoking bans being adopted by more and more local and city governments are opening up some new opportunities for outlet stores that successfully win an exemption from such ordinances.
An exemption from Colorado’s statewide smoking ban for tobacco outlets, for example, enables adult-only outlets to offer their customers a rare opportunity to enjoy a cigarette or cigar indoors. It’s a silver lining that retailers like The Cigarette Store Corp. have been quick to respond to, reports Dan Gallagher, vice president of operations for the Boulder-based company. In addition to adding a number of luxurious cigar lounges to stores (see Cover Story, p. 28), many of The Cigarette Store Corp.’s Smoker Friendly stores now boast coffee bars. “We provide coffee and WiFI, so that people can bring in their laptops, have coffee, and work on the computers,” notes Gallagher.
While the coffee itself can be a profit center, most retailers report that the bump in sales of cigarettes is the real benefit of adding a little caffeine to their offerings. “After we added coffee our cigarette sales spiked,” reports Frank Resta, owner of a Tiger’s Mart in New Jersey. “Coffee sales help cigarette sales and lottery sales. We call it the triangle—the customer comes in, gets a cup of coffee, turns and gets a lottery ticket, and then hits the register and gets his cigarettes.”
Ideally, of course, your coffee bar will be more than simply a pot of coffee left on a burner all day. While you don’t have to install a barista behind the counter to froth up milk and make coffee to order, you do want to serve your customers a nice cup of coffee rather than one they ditch the minute they get outside. How do you do that? Here are some simple steps:
Consider your store traffic and your market. Your coffee bar can be a simple as installing a single-cup, self-serve brewer or as complex as an espresso machine that lets your cashier make a variety of beverages to order. Which is best for you depends on your location for morning and midday traffic and your customer base.
Check with local regulations. Depending on your location, you may need a special permit to serve coffee; your local health department will be able to advise you.
Shop around. There are a number of coffee vendors who will be eager to supply you with coffee and equipment. Don’t get talked into buying the most expensive espresso machine when what you want is much more modest. And talk to several suppliers as well as with other merchants who offer coffee before signing on for a coffee program.
Go for visibility. Ideally, you want your coffee counter or bar to be prominently positioned so that customers see—and smell—it as soon as they walk in the door. If visibility from outside the store is not possible, place a sign indicated that coffee is available in the window.
Market. Don’t expect coffee mavens to sniff out your new offering. You’ll need to let people know that you’ve got freshly brewed coffee, whether it’s by sending an email alert to your customer base or by distributing flyers in area parking lots.
Keep the coffee area attractive. Above all, the coffee should be freshly brewed or brewed to order—whether by your customer or your cashier. The area should be kept neat and clean, with sugar and milk spills cleaned promptly by staffers.
Make it comfortable. Provide seating around tables where people can place their beverages, read a newspaper, and have a cigarette. Avoid smoke build-up by ventilating the area well and use smoke odor candles to keep the air fresh. •
Did you know that…• Coffee was known in Europe as Arabian Wine.• Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732.• In 1763, there were more than 200 coffee shops in Venice.• The tea tax imposed on the U.S. colonies by Great Britain in 1773—which sparked the “Boston Tea Party”—prompted Americans to switch from tea to coffee.• During the Civil War soldiers received coffee beans as a primary ration.• In Turkey, a husband's refusal to produce coffee for his wife was once grounds for marital separation.• Coffee now comprises 75 percent of all the caffeine consumed in the U.S.• Coffee “beans” are actually berries. • |