Coffee & Your Dog
Community Bark is Milwaukee’s hang out for coffee lovers and their dogs. Dog owners will agree that some cities don’t provide enough places for people to sit back and relax with their pets in public. In other countries, especially Europe, dogs are allowed to lounge with their owners in coffee shops and cafes. It is not uncommon to see someone drinking coffee and reading a newspaper with their furry companion table-side.
The United States is becoming more progressive when it comes to coffee drinking and pooch loving. More and more places are incorporating coffee into something dog related such as Community Bark’s coffee house/dog wash. The establishment is located down the road from Milwaukee’s popular Katharine Kearney Carpenter Dog Park. It offers a wide arrange of coffee selections while your pooch is getting washed from a day at the park.
Dog-friendly coffee houses are popping up all over the nation as business owners realize that drinking coffee and spending time with your dog go hand in hand. Many coffee-serving businesses hold “yappy hours”, specific times where dogs are allowed to visit. Dog parks and coffee shops have several things in common, the most obvious being, people like to linger and socialize. If you are looking for a place that serves coffee and allows dogs, go to dogfriendly.com for a convenient listing of what is available in your city.
Coffeehouse Locations
Whenever I’m at a place of business that provides a customer service, I try to think outside myself about what opportunities there are for business to assist that business. This brainstorming usually happens when I’m waiting at a place of business for an extended period of time. The car dealer waiting for service, the registry of motor vehicles and even the doctors office, all these places make me think specifically about coffee. This is usually because I don’t like waiting as long as these places often make customers wait, and coffee calms me down while waiting for hours does not. So I was thinking about how profitable it would be to open up a coffee shop inside or beside one of these business locations. The car dealer and the registry would probably benefit the most, I just can’t picture a practical way to incorpporate a coffee shop in a doctors office. This particular idea struck me when I was sitting in the car dealership waiting for a very long time, and the coffee offeed there is worse than what we have at my work, a lucrative business idea in the shadows!
Frozen Coffee Drinks
Frozen Caramel Latte
Ingredients
3 oz. brewed espresso
1 tablespoon caramel sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups ice cubes
2 tablespoons whipped cream
Directions
Pour the espresso, caramel sauce, and sugar into a blender pitcher. Blend on high until the caramel and sugar dissolve into the espresso. Pour in the milk and add the ice; continue blending until smooth and frothy. Top with whipped cream and serve.
Coffee Shake
Ingredients
1 teaspoon instant coffee
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white sugar
6 ice cubes
2 teaspoons chocolate syrup, if desired
Directions
Combine the instant coffee, milk, vanilla extract, sugar, ice, and chocolate syrup in a blender; blend until smooth.
Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Ingredients
4 cups water
1/2 cup dark roast ground coffee beans
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
16 ice cubes
Directions
Brew coffee. Pour 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk into each of 4 coffee cups. Pour 1 cup of fresh hot coffee into each cup, and stir .
Serve guests, and give each one a tall glass with 4 ice cubes, and a long handled spoon. Guests pour hot coffee over the ice.
Cuppa Joe Coffee (Kitslano, Vancouver, British Columbia)
Cuppa Joes – Jericho Beach/Kitslano
Cuppa Joe’s Coffee Shop * 3744 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC * (604) 224-3687 * http://www.cuppajoecoffee.com/cajc/stores/kits.html
A great little local (but Vancouver chain) two story coffee house right off of 4th, conveniently located in Kitslano bordering Point Grey bordering Jericho Beach. Just a short jolt of a walk from the Vancouver HI. Free wifi internet just ask for the password at the counter. Great chai, pastries, and coffee. A Starbucks alternative. Carries organic and free trade. Always good music and apparently has great beer on tap (I’m not a beer drinker so can’t comment on that one). Staff and regulars are very friendly. Its an artsy joint with good music. Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.
Your espresso machine
The most important piece of equipment in any coffeehouse is the espresso machine. Are you going to get an old school espresso press that you can make the perfect shot with? Or will you go for a second hand Starbucks espresso machine that gives you the convenience of pushing a button for your espresso shots?
People might like the ease and convenience of the push button shot, with every shot being exactly the same every time. Consistency is a good think for business, and your customers will know exactly what they’re getting every time.
But there is a case to be made for the hand press. If you are willing to put in the effort to train your employees on the hand press, you can have something to draw customers that no one else has. You’ll have a higher perceived value because you are not using a machine to make your espresso shots, your coffee has now become an art.
This will take more training for both you and your employees, but having a hand made espresso shot allows you to have higher prices for the quality you’re providing to your customers. Customers won’t mind paying extra, and you can keep your prices competitive.
You could always have both. It’s a higher investment up front, but then you can have two sets of prices, one for hand pressed drinks and one for machine shot drinks. This will show your customers that hand press shots are worth more, and increase the perceived quality of the hand pressed espresso beverage.
Coffee Mugs
You don’t have to bring out the fine bone china for your coffeehouse to get a good reputation. Some of the best coffeehouses in the world have very interesting ways of serving the coffee.
Thrift Store
While I don’t recommend this personally, I’ve seen coffeehouses decorated entirely in “Modern Thrift Store” with furniture and coffee mugs that look like they came out of someone’s alley on garbage day. Sure they did a little sprucing up and cleaning, but you can tell that the chairs, couches, and tables are all second hand (or even third or fourth hand.) This inspires a certain type of customer. Loyal people that just want a place where they can be comfortable and don’t have to be pretentious or try to be someone they aren’t. Of course, they may just be acting like they don’t care, but either way they tend to be repeat customers.
New but Not Matching
Another way you can go is to have fun retro or plain mugs, but they don’t match any formal scheme. You could have a fun mix of old company logos, solid colors, and wild patterns. Your customer won’t know what mug or cup the coffee will come in on any given day, they just know it’s going to be fun, fresh, and different. If you let your customers decide by color, they’ll love you for it.
Business Chic
Maybe your demographic does want the fine bone china. If that’s the case, just make sure it matches the rest of your décor. If you’re looking for a high class coffee clientele you want to make sure you don’t have anything too dainty or flowery. Even ladies in business don’t necessarily want to drink espresso out of a cup that looks like it belongs in grandmother’s kitchen.
No matter what style you choose to go with for your coffeehouse, remember that it was your choice and be proud. If you seem secure in your choices, your employees will be as well. This will translate through to the customers as well, and everyone will feel good about your choice.
Coffeehouse Music
Whether your taste is for Starbucks or Caribou Coffee or the little cafe on the corner, coffeehouse culture is alive and strong.
While the exact ingredients that go into a successful creation of coffee house culture may be elusive to most…the first thing that should be revamped or rechecked is the music. If your CD collection you’re playing for your customers doesn’t have some great mellow tunes that aren’t Kenny-G…you need to rethink your coffeehouse music philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, all coffeehouse music isn’t mellow. Lisa Loeb had some great funky tunes that were totally coffeehouse music without being slow and mellow.
Coffeehouses do not have Musak piped in through muted speakers. Coffeehouses do not have the Top-40 radio station on in the background. They have artists with “soul” – that bring a special vibe to the coffeehouse so it becomes a place where you feel things, not just a place where you drink a beverage.
If you’re looking for coffeehouse music, look no farther than your nearest and dearest Indie labels. Sure Amy Winehouse is huge and on a big label now, but she still qualifies as coffeehouse music. Also make sure to check out Alice Smith and her fabulous album For Lovers, Dreamers & Me. It has an India Arie vibe that is pure coffeehouse.
Usually you can tell if you’re listening to coffeehouse music if you can picture yourself with a steaming cup in your hands while you’re swaying to the music. It makes you feel like you could be more than you were before hearing the music.
It makes you feel artistic, creative, and deep.
That’s what makes it such an important part of coffeehouse culture.
City o City (Denver, Colorado)
City O City (Denver, Colorado)
210 E. 13th Ave, Denver, Colorado 80218 * 303.318.9844 http://www.watercoursefoods.com/cityocity.html
One of Denver’s premiere vegetarian restaurants, in the heart of capital hill, next to artsy shops and bars. Down tempo music with eclectic offerings of food, coffee, and drinks … this hot spot will give any visitor a sensational zing for their zang. “City, O’ City – An Ode, A Lament” is their motto, and implies the beginning of a poem to the City. It’s a coffeehouse, it’s a cafe, it’s a restaurant. Wine, Ales, unique hard liquors, teas, espresso, drip coffee beans, gluten-free muffins, spelt flour cookies, vegetarian or vegan pizza, seitan fake-meats, every dish i tried at this fabulous restaurant was extremely delicious. Part of the WaterCourse Foods network. Rating 5 stars out of 5.
El Diablo Coffee Company, Seattle, WA
El Diablo Coffee Company
http://www.eldiablocoffee.com/ * 1811 Queen Anne Ave North #101, Seattle, WA 98109 * 206.285.0693
A large artsy cafe in the heart of Queen Anne on the main drag, next to a cool bookstore, and nestled within a bunch of shops. El Diablo will give you a taste of heaven and hell … downstairs taking in Diablo’s color, fire, and Mexican-like Day of the Dead decor style … with great drinks and pastries. Upstairs you can climb into the clouds and settle into heaven. Great place to meet friends, chat, read, and absorb Seattle coffee culture with a kitchy artistic flair. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
 El Diablo Coffee Co. |
 El Diablo version of Chai, water, and a breakfast muffin |
Bauhaus Coffee Shop, Seattle, WA
Bauhaus Coffee
301 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122 * (206) 625-1600
http://bauhauscoffee.com/
A great coffee shop in the heart of Capital Hill with books and coffee, chai and free wifi, and late night hours. Friendly staff and a great place to meet people. Good service. Highly recommended for any coffee connaisseur. Rating 5 stars out of 5. Visited 12/29/06
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