Farm shop & Tea Room

kingfisherblue

Obviously there is a lot to research and think about first, but a couple of things from a customer point of view:

Good disability access - inside and outside. Gravel paths are difficult to push a wheelchair on!

Spotlessly clean everywhere.

Good choice of decent quality foods at reasonable prices.

Decent mugs - a local garden centre has recently swapped mugs for wide cups, but drinks don't stay hot in them.

Enough space to move between tables, rather than having them squashed together.

Children's cutlery - I carry it round for my granddaughter because so few places have it.

Settees as well as tables and chair combinations.

A few books and some colouring can be welcome for children - a couple of places near me have a few reading books and board books for children, and my granddaughter happily looks through them. It's nice for the children and even nicer for other customers who want to enjoy a bit of peace!

Decor shouldn't be dark or heavy, it should be clean and light.

Some nut free/ gluten free/ dairy free options are welcome for some of us (I have a nut allergy) - along with knowledgeable staff. If they don't know the answer, they should at least be able to find out quickly. I've sometimes had to wait up to twenty minutes to find out if nuts are on the ingredients list (and yes, I know that cross contamination is possible and nothing is guaranteed to be nut free, but at least with an ingredients list available, I can make an informed decision).

Decent parking.

Ms_Chocaholic

The main thing that would entice me to a tea room would be an outside play area within sight of the tea room so I could let my granddaughter play outside. The wooden structure ones are quite pleasing on the eye too.

Savvy_Sue

If you're taking over a going concern, are you clear on your TUPE responsibilities to the existing staff?

Robin9

Visit the shop at quiet times - how busy are they ?

Farm shops are not on my list - I live in a small market town and plenty of farm produce available from places doing a good turnover.

TeaRoomVenture

You had very good points indeed, we thought about all of the above and had all the figures studied by a chartered accountant and we've been over there at different times/days. Clientele is various , they have a bit of everything but teenagers!!! Slightly upmarket area. Community support and the shop has been running for more than 30 years. Tea room opened 3 years ago as an addition and is on the verge of overtaking the shop's revenue.
The owners want their life back and are not ready to extend the hours or premises or services to let the business grow, they have already done a lot to it and want to step back and move onto something else.
Thanks for your input 😉

TeaRoomVenture

Yes we have discussed the staff issues and contract too.
Thanks a lot!

TeaRoomVenture

I understand and at the moment there is a garden space that would be suitable but we need to secure it more so toddlers can run around safely. We intend to put kiddies apparatus in a short-medium term too!

TeaRoomVenture

The direct competition is non existent and should remain for a while at least! We have listed the nearest ones and having a drive to some of them today actually. You're right it is essential to check the competition out! Most of them don't have a tea room, only a farm shop though so a plus for us I guess.

TeaRoomVenture

We did visit on different time and days and the flow is coming by peaks in the tea room and sort of steady in the shop.

TeaRoomVenture

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Obviously there is a lot to research and think about first, but a couple of things from a customer point of view:

Good disability access - inside and outside. Gravel paths are difficult to push a wheelchair on!

Spotlessly clean everywhere.

Good choice of decent quality foods at reasonable prices.

Decent mugs - a local garden centre has recently swapped mugs for wide cups, but drinks don't stay hot in them.

Enough space to move between tables, rather than having them squashed together.

Children's cutlery - I carry it round for my granddaughter because so few places have it.

Settees as well as tables and chair combinations.

A few books and some colouring can be welcome for children - a couple of places near me have a few reading books and board books for children, and my granddaughter happily looks through them. It's nice for the children and even nicer for other customers who want to enjoy a bit of peace!

Decor shouldn't be dark or heavy, it should be clean and light.

Some nut free/ gluten free/ dairy free options are welcome for some of us (I have a nut allergy) - along with knowledgeable staff. If they don't know the answer, they should at least be able to find out quickly. I've sometimes had to wait up to twenty minutes to find out if nuts are on the ingredients list (and yes, I know that cross contamination is possible and nothing is guaranteed to be nut free, but at least with an ingredients list available, I can make an informed decision).

Decent parking.

Thank you very much for your input. You've got very fair comments that we have thought of actually. We've tried to put ourselves in the customer's shoes and as we like comfort and decent service when we go out, then we intend to implement the same in our business.
A list of ingredients is very clever actually and easy to make beforehand so no panic when a customer ask. My best friend is dairy, nut, egg, wheat and gluten intolerant so I will work on this with her.
We're rather restricted in space so it is a cosy feel I'm afraid more than a light and airy space!!! We thought about extending with a nice log cabin actually.
Also we'll have a trip to IKEA for the kiddies cutlery, good point thank you!
Mugs or cups will be on offer so people have a choice.
Thanks a lot for your ideas.