November 4th, 2013

‘Pilgrim Coffee’ Owner Shares Tips for Opening a New Café

Will Priestly opened Pilgrim Coffee last year and his experiences in opening his own independent café should be an eye-opener to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

His first step involved finding a good location, which required quite a bit of footwork. In the end, finding an already available venue wasn’t possible—he needed to negotiate with a shop owner to buy their business in order to secure a suitable location.

In retrospect, buying a location that didn’t already serve food presented some obstacles in obtaining the necessary permits to open his café. He stressed that new café owners will find it far easier to find a location already used or approved as a food premise.

Priestly recommended that new owners take the time to choose a meaningful, catchy name for their new café. He also suggested that new café owners create a thorough business plan, and consider doing their own building and project managing. They should also be aware that opening a new café rarely goes according to schedule, so be prepared for delays.