Posted by Singing Dog Vanilla / Blog / 0Comments
Do you understand your magic ingredient? If you’re thinking about moving to a new location, it’s probably because you are doing well at your current location, but you just need a larger space. Your Bakery Café has a loyal customer base. They love your service, appreciate that you use only real ingredients, and are willing […]
Do you understand your magic ingredient?
If you’re thinking about moving to a new location, it’s probably because you are doing well at your current location, but you just need a larger space. Your Bakery Café has a loyal customer base. They love your service, appreciate that you use only real ingredients, and are willing to pay for quality. You just need a larger space to accommodate all of them. Is that all you need to grow? Or is there another magic ingredient?
I know of a cafe that was doing so well they moved to a larger location just around the corner on the opposite side of the block. Same employees, same treats, same owners, same clean ingredients, and the same rent for twice the space. But something was wrong. Sales actually dropped.
The new location could be missing something
It turns out that at their old location, many people from the yoga studio next door and from the bank building on the corner had to walk past the bakery on their way to the parking structure. There were also a couple of other restaurants on their side of the block that fed a steady stream of after-hours business. Even though they were only a 3-minute walk away from their old location, the business microenvironment was very different.
Out of sight, out of the stomach.
Not only did the new location require those same people to cross a busy intersection, but the new shop could no longer be seen (or smelled!) by people as they finished yoga or left their office to find their parked car. Unless a person stood on the corner and looked in the opposite direction they would have no idea the cafe even existed.
They did gain a few new customers from the playground next door and the bus station across the street (next to the other side of that same bank building…yes, that close!). But so far, they have not regained all their former customers. The pastries are so good that most are willing to wait at the light and cross the intersection. But, they don’t come as often since it’s no longer on the way to their car or visible after exiting a restaurant. Their cinnamon rolls are incredible so hopefully, more people will explore around the corner to find them.
