Do you have advice about running/ leasing a sandwich shop/café

Don’t do it!
I ran a coffee shop with 2 friends when our youngest children started school. It was fun but it’s hard work - very hard work and we were only in our late 30’s. The thought of doing it when retired gives me the heebie jeebies. There are so many more regulations to adhere to now and at the end of the day, there’s not a huge amount of money to be made from this type of catering. Think long and hard!

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I have no experience to offer , however ............ after reading all the posts I suggest you think more than twice about this proposed venture! If you do decide to go ahead I wish you well - good luck whatever you decide.
Be careful!!

theretheredear- have you considered putting a " toe in the water" by participating in one- off events?
At our recent food festival, one woman sold her home made cakes over three days.
She sold out every afternoon before 4.
These are hard work, and there might be regulations, but it might be a way to try out your plan without the commitment of every day or the cost of premises .

Catering and leisure facilities are one of the industry sectors that are struggling most under the recent increase in fuel, labour, and raw material costs and have an above average failure rate.

Just this past week, I've seen posts on social media from two local cafe/takeaway places which are selling all their fixtures and fittings because they're closing down.

My friend owned a tea room for a while but sold on. She said, ' You have to sell a heck of a lot of scones to make a pound.'

Time for a rethink I feel after reading all your comments!

A trendy cafe opened near us about 2 years ago and lasted about a year. They sold artisan bread, croissants, other french baked cakes and coffees. They had wi fi but people like my neighbour used to go up there with her friend and sit there all morning using the wi fi nursing a cup of coffee each.

8 covers is not enough to make a profit.

This week I was on a coach tour. We stopped at a beautiful but remote bay on a Scottish island. There was a cafe ( with toilets) but it has recently closed down. We would have used it gladly, but could understand that it was not financially viable. The overheads are huge compared to the income.

Any of the catering/pub businesses are hard work, a lot goes on behind the bit the public sees. It might look like a fun thing to do but it takes over.
My parents ran their own place in the 70/80's and while they made a fair income from it back then, they had to work long hours every day. I used to run it for one day every week so they had some time away and when they took holidays so I know how much they did. Later years I was part of a small team running a local community association/club and even with help you are still on call 7 days a week.
I certainly wouldn't even think about it in these times with all the high costs involved.

We used to open our garden once a year for charity, we did cream teas,cakes etc.
In 1 afternoon between 1 and 5 we could take over £400 on refreshments, sounds great doesn’t it!
Take from that the ingredients, staff, gas, electricity, business rates, tax etc and there’s not much left.
At the end of the afternoon we were all exhausted!

My BIL put 80k into opening a very similar project...... 7 months later he shut up shop .....80k poorer...and went back onto building sites ..... he knew nothing of business ....and wasn't prepared to put in 16 hour days to get it off the ground...and had no business plan ...it was sad

If you can get a job at a cafe first, that would be a great way to get accustomed. It is difficult to earn enough to pay the overhead bills but you have a great attitude. If you dont mind not earning money but having a retirement hobby, it might be for you. Would the sellers share their financial books and do they offer free training for a month or so?

I did a business management course (admittedly 2016) and at that point coffee shops were the businesses that failed quicker and more often than any other.

It was a combination of low profit margins and lots of outgoings with lots of regulation.
Also lots of perishables. Working out how much bread/rolls/cakes etc.
And staff - because nobody wants to wait long and people come in all together - then nobody.

If you are passionate I'd do plenty of research - and scour the books.

Having owned a sandwich bar/cafe I wholeheartedly agree with everything Skydancer has said. My advice would be, don’t do it.

Oh my, thank you for all your honest feedback, I really appreciate it.

No-one open an independent coffee shop to fail. Hopes and dreams tempt them. Sadly many have to call it a day. It always seems sad when it happens.

Most cafes opened by sole traders or partnerships fail within 2 years.
I have observed this locally.
Most people do not research the matter thoroughly and underestimate the work involved.
Regulatory and compliance issues alone are onerous.

Here is a link to starting a food business information provided by the Food Standards Authority, the government regulator for catering establishments. www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/getting-ready-to-start-your-food-business

Do not stop reading it when you get to the section on Childminders, keep reading. If you still want to run a catering business after reading about all the hoops and rules governing such businesses then go ahead. But I will be surprised if you do.

I have a friend who owns a Coffee shop, posh word for cafe! It is lovely and offers a menu that isn’t run of the mill,
She has qualifications and a background in catering. After 10 years she is exhausted, although a good 10 years off retirement.
It’s not just cooking, it’s ordering, managing the finances, maintaining the equipment and managing staff.
She has a manager for two days, but it’s not time off for her, it’s cooking and baking. If the staff are ill then there’s more added stress. She survived throughout Covid offering delivered, home baking.
Sorry to sound negative, but that’s the reality. If you can hack it, then that would be great.

Health and safety certificate will be required too.

I have experience of running a sandwich bar. It is extremely hard work. Also there’s an immense amount of clearing up and cleaning to do. When it comes to the seating, 8 covers is far too small. Many people linger for ages with just a coffee. My advice would be don’t even think about it. I wouldn’t advise anyone to do it. I have nightmares even thinking back to when I did it. We couldn’t wait to sell up which we thankfully managed to do.

I think you would need to do a business course first, it’s really quite a big commitment

No experience myself. How successful has it been in the past? Is it missed?