When Elsa Mullan, manager of the 15-room Pilgrims Hotel, Canterbury, Kent, acquired an adjacent unit, she knew it would make an excellent coffee shop. Tchibo, 275, had supplied coffee and equipment to the hotel for two years, so she knew instantly whom to approach about opening a coffee shop. For Tchibo has introduced a new coffee shop concept. This is a ready-made, modular coffee shop environment based on a choice from six Tchibo central service units and various display options.
As Elsa says: "Opening a coffee shop seemed like a natural progression. I decided to call in Tchibo, the experts, rather than sorting it all out myself. It's more economical as Tchibo can negotiate prices from suppliers and so on."
Elsa's investment was £21,000 for the coffee shop package, which includes all aspects even the floor, wallcovering, furniture, counter and fridge. These components are all sourced and supplied by Tchibo, as well as coffee and coffee equipment. The company also gives advice on what food to serve.
Amos Burnett, Tchibo Territory Sales Manager, Tchibo's top performing sales manager for 2002, said: "It's very much a joint initiative. We worked with Elsa, directed, guided and added to Elsa's ideas." It only took eight weeks to install the coffee shop. The biggest challenge was plastering the ceiling which was falling down - and removing heavy duty shutters.
The 30-seat coffee shop opened officially in September and is a great success, with an average 325 cups of coffee served a day, although as Elsa points out this does vary according to the day and time.
"A conservative estimate would be 700 to 1,000 cups a week," she says.
To promote the new shop, posters were put up, boards displayed outside and leaflets distributed in the street. Special offers and a loyalty card was introduced to encourage repeat custom.
What's more, she has received a letter from Canterbury Council congratulating her on the presentation of the new premises. "They said it was aesthetically pleasing," she says. "It was carried out in liaison with the Council as this is a listed building."
Interestingly, there is another Tchibo coffee shop in Canterbury, but this is the high street style of retail shop, offering different merchandise each week. There is cross-selling between the two outlets, with customers at Pilgrims being given money-off vouchers off merchandise on sale at the other shop.
Pilgrims Coffee Shop attracts a board spectrum of customers from older people to students, shoppers and tourists. "We've attracted an older age group than we thought," she says. "Some elderly people don't understand the different coffees - so we have to check they know what it is. We have coffee menus describing the different beverages which helps."
The average spend per head is £3, but this varies according to the time of day - the busiest day is Saturday. The opening hours are: 8am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday and 9am to 6pm on Sunday, although Elsa expects to stay open later until 8.30pm or 9pm in the summer, when the coffee shop will have tables and chairs outside.
"The average spend doubled when we introduced hot paninis," adds Elsa.
The paninis are from Delice de France, 276, in varieties such as tuna melt and mozzarella and tomato. Other food offerings include scones, croissants and muffins, also from Delice de France. The coffee shop also offers jam portions by Frank Coopers in different varieties from UBF Foodsolutions, 277, as well as Walkers crisps in various flavour, 278.
As Elsa points out: "Our food offering is conservative as we haven't got space for much - we may introduce soup at a later stage."
White chinaware is by Dudson, 279, while sugar sticks are provided by Tchibo.
The equipment includes the Espressomat Ellisse from Bezzera, supplied by Tchibo, 280, which produces 240 cups of espresso an hour.
The top selling type of coffee is Americano, followed by Cappuccino. The coffee shop serves the whole array of speciality coffees including Mocha and Latte. Apart from coffee, the Pilgrims Coffee Shop offers Twinings tea, 281, Buxton mineral water and J20 soft drinks from Britvic, 282.
The shop employs five staff - three full-time and two part-time, who all attended a day's training at Tchibo's HQ in Epsom, Surrey. The training covers the coffee market, customer care and the art of making good coffee.
The venture has been such a success that Pilgrims is currently building an extension which will become Global Travel, a travel agency run by Anthony Mullen, Elsa's son, who's starting his own business. He says: "It will be great for people to come in, relax, have a cup of coffee, pick up travel brochures and have a chat about their holidays. I'm confident we'll pick up business from people who visit for a cup of coffee - it will benefit both businesses."
Tchibo
Sample Menu
Paninis:
Tuna melt, £1.95
Mozzarella, beef, tomatoes and basil, £1.95
Bacon melt, £2.50
Espresso, £1.20
Doppio, £1.40
Cappuccino, £1.70/£1.90
Cafe Latte, £1.80