Tips for Designing a Coffee Shop Layout

As a coffee shop owner, an important part of your business is building out the aesthetic and layout of your establishment. But you also want your shop to be functional for both your employees and customers.

Make sure you have the best coffee shop supplies when you shop at Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters. We roast all of our beans to order and offer USDA Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, and Fair Trade Certified coffee beans. Read through our blog for some advice on how to design a functional coffee shop setup!

Designing Your Coffee Shop

While the decor and actual branding of your coffee shop is a large part of the design process, it’s also important to consider where you place key equipment, tables, and chairs, in addition to how your employees and customers move through the space.

Planning Out the Equipment

A large part of how you layout your coffee shop comes from ensuring that your equipment is placed in the optimal location for functionality. We know that coffee machines are bulky. So consider how you want your baristas and customers to interact.

If you want your customers to see the baristas making the coffee, place the machine in a place where customers have full-view of the process. Or if you want customers to talk to baristas while they make their drinks, have the back of the machine face the customers.

The Counter

You need enough space on the counter for all of your equipment, necessary supplies, and to prepare all of the menu items. But you also want to design your countertop for your customers. Incorporate a display of your pastries or grab-and-go options. Create gaps between bulky items for your customers to interact with your employees while they prepare. Then leave space to highlight specials or relay other information to your customers while they order.

As a general rule of thumb, you will want to have the espresso machine, espresso grinder, and under-counter refrigerator (for milk products) near one another. You will also want to have space near the espresso machine for your flavored sauces and flavored syrups. We would also recommend having airpots filled with your drip coffees near the espresso machine as well if you will be providing drive-up service.

Your Employees

No coffee shop wants its employees to bump into each other while they’re working. This means that you need to design the space for optimal workflow. If one barista is making drinks, have everything they need in one space, like the coffee machine, cups, milk options, and syrups. Then store all of the meal prepping supplies, like plates and the refrigerator, closer together. This will prevent your employees from continually crossing paths to prepare different things.

Your Customers

Finally, consider the process for your customers. When they walk into the shop, where do they order? How does the line form? How clear is the menu?

You want to make the entire ordering process smooth and easy for your customers. Consider any questions or alternatives they might need ahead of time and have those listed on the menu. Be sure to clearly communicate everything to the customer, ranging from pricing and size options to where they order and how they will receive their drink or food.

As a coffee shop, you might also consider creating different menus for your coffee and drinks versus your food offerings. This way, people who just want a drink don’t have to sift through an entire menu of options.

Shop Our Coffee Shop Supplies

Design the perfect layout for your coffee shop space — and make sure you have all of the coffee shop supplies you need. Shop our equipment, supplies, and freshly roasted coffee beans at Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters.

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