I want to open a Knitting Cafe!

domestica

How do I go about this? Knitting is so popular at the moment, even amongst the celebs as a destresser. I handknit to order and am always busy. Someone out there must feel the same!

Savvy_Sue

Well, I would guess it is similar to running a cybercafe, with knitting needles instead of computers! I've never done that either, but I have a friend who did. He's closed it now, because his wife had a spell of ill health, and the staffing became impossible.

It might be worth starting by seeing if you can host a knitting clinic or club in a cafe that's already running. Remember that you'll need people to see to the food and drink (which I recommend you keep very simple at least to begin with) as well as the knitters.

And remember that coffee over knitting is about as good a situation as coffee over a keyboard! Might want to think about having 'troughs' to put the drinks in so they don't get knocked over easily.

On the food and drink front, Environmental Health would have to be informed, and everyone would need to have a qualification in food hygiene ...

Too tired to think of more offputting things to say tonight ... sorry if that's not helpful, just random thoughts! I'm sure there could be a market for it! Although you might need to provide newspapers for the non-knitting spouses ... :rotfl:

yeovilmac

You could open an "inter-knit cafe".... not bad as "pearls" of wisdom go.

I'll fetch my goat.

tr3mor

I think that's a fantastic idea - I know loads of people that are big knitters..

rainbowrisin

I think it's a brill idea, but sadly can see the down side of buttered toast and fisherman's rib simultaneously:eek:

Had you intended to make money from the cafe side, with the knitting as a "draw", or vice versa?

I would suggest that forming knitting circles in conjunction with other activities might be more easily implemented - perhaps make a point of having knitting ins in strange places...(the mind boggles:p ), or having a knitting "supper", where supper and knitting were discreet entities...or a knitting lunch, or even a working knitting breakfast...as long as crumbs and cable were kept separate i think it would work well.
What about knitting trips out, where everyone could knit on the coach or whatever (plays havoc with your tension, but it's a thought)..perhaps to a place of knitting interest?
Does some of that help, hope so...good luck, and keep me posted, i love to knit, and have done for years, no fly by night knitter me:D and any of the above would really appeal to me.

Sam_Bee

I think there is a market! If anyone went to Fruitstock at Regents Park a couple of weekend's ago, there was a very popular knitting corner! Lots of people knitting, drinking smoothies / smuggled in beer and chatting away. I think it was Hipknit or someone who did it?

Search here for more info: http://www.fruitstock.co.uk/attractions.php

lynzpower

I wonder if you might want to have a look at OberonSHs thread in Debt free wannabee, she has a knitting shop and has been trying to do the same, with some difficulty, have a nose at the earlier part of her thread.