We keep hearing how Thursday is the new Friday, Brighton is the new London and orange is the new black, but here at GoLark we also think cafés are the new restaurants. We have many perfectly logical reasons to think this, and we hope that you’ll agree with us. These fabulous eateries, and there are many of them in our region, have transformed the way we eat, as individuals, as couples, as families and as groups of friends. Here are five ways to make sure your café is doing all it can to achieve success.
Changing consumer preferences
These days, café visitors tend to be more casual in their approach, more flexible in their choices and, crucially, more influenced by their surroundings. This, inevitably, means they are more likely to spend time in cafés which offer the chance to relax. If this isn’t available, they will usually vote with their feet. And these customers, unfortunately, are unlikely to return at any time in the near future. If your establishment isn’t able to keep hold of customers, the consequences can be serious as well as long-lasting.
Know your consumer base
If your café has been in business for many years, you will have already noticed that your consumer base will been changing in recent years. Millennials and Gen Z are important to the hospitality industry, in part because they tend to have significant amounts of disposable income. And as a general rule – a very general one, by the way – they tend to see the café experience as a very different entity from the restaurant experience. Knowing your end users is of the utmost importance.
Always interpret which way the wind is blowing
Dining habits change all the time, of course, and over the past decade or more we’ve seen a noticeable shift towards healthier, and more ethical, eating and drinking. Café owners all over the region know the importance of offering varieties of milk, for example, as well as an increasingly wide range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Locally sourced ingredients and products have become more common, as have organic items. Café owners need to be aware of coming trends and to know how to react to them.
It’s all about the variety
One of the biggest indicators of cafés evolving into a newer version of restaurants is in the sheer variety of menu items they offer. There was a time when many cafés provided little more than tea and toast, but that’s all changed for the better now. Take a look at the average menu and the chances are you’ll be spoilt for choice, thanks to a sizable selection of hot and cold temptations, some of which may even seem to be completely unique. Brighton’s Honey Cake Café by Mary is an excellent example.
Something for everyone
Here at GoLark, one of the things we love about cafés in the region is that they offer so much more than a place in which to eat and drink. Unlike most restaurants, cafés can be seen as community hubs, social meeting places and, increasingly, somewhere comfortable to work. And of course, some, such as the Art House Café in Eastbourne, give visitors a chance to take part in activities. The days when you simply sat in silence while you nibbled at a slice of cake are long gone, and that’s how we like it.
