Setting up a tea room
For any seasoned visitor to tea rooms, the idea of actually taking the plunge and setting up your own is a far-fetched fantasy that will probably never be realised. But what if you decide to follow your heart? Here is our guide to the necessary steps that will put you on your way to fulfilling your tea room dream.
A reality check
The first thing to be taken into consideration is that owning a tea room is very different to visiting a tea room. This may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how much of the action happens behind the scenes. 
As a customer, you won’t see the owner getting up at the crack of dawn to bake cakes, nor will you see the careful budgeting that goes into buying the right quantities of ingredients in order to meet the demands of different seasons.
The decision to take on a tea room should be a business minded one rather than an idealistic dream of freshly baked cakes and friendly chats with happy customers, though one would hope there would be a bit of that involved too.
Location, location, location
Where you choose to set up your tea room will be of paramount importance to the success of your business. A touristy area will be the most lucrative during the busy summer period, but consider how you will make money during the quieter months. A tea room in the middle of nowhere may look picturesque, but may get little trade in the winter. 
Bear in mind the cost of the property in a popular tourist location, however. Beware of taking on a high rent on a building for your business; you will need to be certain of the amount of income you will be able to generate and this might put too much pressure on the early days of getting established.
You may find that taking on an existing tea room is the easiest way to get started. This will make the initial process much easier, but may be harder to stamp your character on the place.
A little bit of personality
When you have your premises and are ready to get going, consider what atmosphere you want to create in your tea room. One of the differences between a tea room and a café is that a tea room will often reflect the personality and character of its owner more than a café will.
Whether it is through your décor, your furniture, the style of ordering, the menus or even the font that you use in your sign, you have the chance to make the tearoom your own. If you are going to draw people to your tea room again and again, tempting them away from the big chain coffee houses, you will need to provide a unique experience.
Sticking to the rules
One thing that you must do, when you have your business, is contact your local council about rules and regulations affecting the environment. You will need to register as a food premises and comply with rules regarding food hygiene and temperature.
Your council will be able to advise you on advertising and shop design, as well as on planning regulations regarding any signs you want to put up. They may also be able to help with any queries you have regarding budgeting and tax.
All about the money
How much your business will cost to set up and run will obviously depend on the type of tea room, its location, its size, the number of hours you want to be open for and the number of staff you employ. 
Before embarking on this adventure you will need to have a clear idea of how much it will cost to start the business (including how much you will need for furniture and initial outlays such as ovens and other kitchen equipment.)
Other tea room owners will be able to give you a clearer idea of this, as they will be able to explain their breakdown of costs. Also consider asking other tea room or café owners in the area for advice on suppliers and other local technicalities.
Something different
In order to set your tea room apart from others, you may like to consider offering a particular service, such as walk-in tea parties on particular afternoons, or taking exclusive bookings for tea parties. Another idea might be to aim your tea room specifically at walkers or cyclists, providing a service tailored to their particular needs. 
Having a particular type of tea room can be useful as it will allow you to advertise widely within that field. Cyclists could be encouraged to start a group ride from your tea room and perhaps if you were able to offer a group discount on tea and cake when they returned, they might make it a regular haunt.
People person
One of the most important things to remember when setting up a tea room is that you must enjoy it. Owning a tea room is a way of life rather than a job. You have to really want to provide the best service you can and you have to really want to interact with people.
Make your tea room a unique place where people will get an experience they cannot get anywhere else. Empty tea rooms look unappealing, so tourists will be drawn to the place if it is bustling, and regulars will keep coming back to you because they enjoy the whole experience you offer. For further advice on setting up a tea room, the following websites may be useful.
No comments:
Post a Comment