01Move
DNA dimensions
Daily transactions, food attach %, average ticket, peak-hour throughput, milk waste %, regular-customer ratio, Google Map pack rank.
All playbooksSmall business
Coffee shop playbook.
A third-wave specialty café with a 2-group La Marzocco, 6–14 covers and a strong takeaway pipeline. The win is 320–520 transactions per day with a 22%+ food attach.
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Reference fit-out · Coffee shop
Overview
A UK specialty café in 2026 makes its money in a 3-hour morning peak. The maths: 380 daily transactions × £4.80 average ticket = £1,820/day = £55k/month at 7-day trading. COGS sit at 28–32% (beans £18/kg trade, milk £1.20/L), wages run 32–38%, rent 8–12%. The variables you can move are food attach (lifts ticket £1.20–£1.80) and peak throughput (one extra barista on a 2-group machine = +£480/day). This playbook covers the bar, the build-out, the supplier stack and the unit economics for a 35–80 m² café in a strong UK trading area.
380–520
Daily transactions target
26%
Food attach
< 4%
Milk waste
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Bar
Espresso machine (2-group)
La Marzocco Linea PB, Mythos Speedster, Victoria Arduino Black Eagle
£9,800–£18,500
Espresso grinder (on demand, ×2)
Mahlkönig E65S GbW or EK43
£2,400–£4,200 each
Batch brew (Marco SP9 or Moccamaster)
£640–£2,800
Knock box + tamping mat + WDT tools
£280
Milk fridge (under-counter, dual door)
£900–£1,800
Water filter (Brita Purity C500)
£420 + £180/yr cartridges
02
Kitchen & food
Panini press / contact grill
£280–£640
Pastry display fridge (curved glass)
£1,800–£3,400
Convection oven (Unox XF023)
£1,400–£2,800
Prep fridge + freezer
£1,200–£2,400
Dishwasher (Hobart undercounter)
£2,400–£4,200
Stainless prep counter + 3-bowl sink
£900–£1,800
03
Front of house
Square POS + cash drawer + printer
£140 setup + 1.75% fees
Counter (custom oak + zinc top)
£3,400–£8,000
Café tables + chairs (×6–14 covers)
£140–£340 per cover
Branded takeaway cups + lids + napkins
£480/month volume
Menu board (chalk or digital screen)
£280–£1,400
04
Bean programme
House espresso (single-origin, trade)
Square Mile / Origin / Workshop
£16–£24/kg trade
Filter rotation (3 origins/month)
£26–£38/kg trade
Retail bag stand + 6 SKUs
£140 setup + £8/bag wholesale
Brew kit retail (V60, Chemex, scales)
£420 stock float
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Morning peak footfall
≥ 1,200 commuters / 7–10am
Specialty trades 65–75% of revenue before 11am.
Office worker density
≥ 2,500 within 5min walk
Office accounts (subscriptions, catering) lift weekday revenue.
Ground-floor corner unit
Wraparound glass + 4.5m frontage
Visibility wins the impulse takeaway decision.
Drainage + extraction
Existing or routable
Retrofitting kitchen extraction in a residential block adds £18k+.
Trading area
35–80 m²
Below 35 caps food sales; above 80 needs more covers than peak supports.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London transit micro-site (zone 1–2 station)
£4,800–£12,000
Best transaction volume; brutal rent.
London neighbourhood (zone 2–3)
£2,800–£6,500
Strong locals + weekend brunch covers.
Regional city centre (Bristol, Leeds, Manchester)
£1,800–£4,200
Office worker + student catchment.
Market town high street
£900–£2,400
Lower volume but excellent margin once embedded.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqFood business registration
Local council (28 days before opening)
Free
Immediate
ReqFood Hygiene Rating inspection
Environmental health
Free
Within 28 days of opening
ReqLevel 2 Food Safety + HACCP
Highfield / Virtual College
£25–£90 per person
1 day
ReqAllergen training (Natasha's Law)
FSA online
Free–£40
1 day
OptPremises licence (for alcohol — if pouring wine)
Local council
£100–£635 + £180/yr
8 weeks
OptPavement licence (outdoor seating)
Local council
£100–£500/year
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product liability insurance
Hiscox / Simply Business
£340–£640/year
1 day
ReqPRS for Music + PPL
PPL PRS Ltd
£340–£540/year
1 week
ReqWaste + grease trap collection
Local commercial waste + Olleco
£140–£320/month
1 week
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Concept & site
Weeks 1–8- Define menu, bean partner, brand identity
- Site search + lease HoTs
- Drainage + extraction surveys
- Planning consent if change of use
02
Phase 1 — Design + permits
Weeks 4–12- Architect drawings + kitchen plan
- Building control application
- Food business registration
- Order long-lead bar equipment (12w lead)
03
Phase 2 — Fit-out
Weeks 10–18- Kitchen install (extraction, dishwasher)
- Bar build + plumbing + electrics
- Floor, counter, lighting, joinery
- POS, broadband, security install
04
Phase 3 — Calibration
Weeks 17–19- Barista hiring + 2-week training
- Recipe + dialing-in espresso
- Soft launch (friends + family, 3 days)
- EHO inspection booked
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 20+- Open Tue–Sun, build to 7 days by week 4
- Loyalty programme live
- Subscription tier launch
- First Google review push
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Lease deposit + 3 months
£8,400 → £36,000
Fit-out (kitchen + bar + FoH)
£42,000 → £120,000
Espresso bar (machine, grinders, batch)
£14,000 → £28,000
Branding + signage + menu
£3,400 → £9,500
POS + tablets + ordering tech
£800 → £2,400
Opening stock (beans, milk, food)
£2,400 → £6,500
Licences + insurance + EHO setup
£900 → £2,800
Pre-launch marketing
£1,400 → £5,400
Working capital (3 months)
£18,000 → £48,000
Typical total
£92k–£258k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Rent + service charge
£1,800 → £12,000
Business rates (after relief)
£0 → £2,800
Utilities (high — extraction + bar)
£640 → £1,800
COGS (beans, milk, food) 28–32%
£8,000 → £28,000
Wages (3–8 baristas + chef)
£11,000 → £32,000
POS, broadband, software
£280 → £640
Waste, grease trap, hygiene
£220 → £540
Insurance + PRS + marketing
£340 → £900
Typical total
£22.3k–£78.7k
Numbers that compound
How a coffee shop actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 180 transactions, £820 take, bar workflow rough but milk-steaming sound.
02Day 7
Full open week: avg 280 transactions/day, £4.20 avg ticket = £8.2k weekly.
03Day 30
Settled into 380 tx/day. Food attach 18% — needs work. 96 Google reviews, 4.8 avg.
04Day 90
Hitting 460 tx/day, food attach 26%, milk waste 3.4%. Subscription has 84 members.
05Day 180
Steady-state: 510 tx/day weekdays. Wholesale beans to 3 local restaurants. EHO 5★.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a coffee shop.
02Move
Suggested route
Nail the bar workflow (sub-90s drink time), push food attach via toasties + pastries, launch a £24/month coffee subscription, then add wholesale beans.
03Move
Automations
Loyalty stamp digitalisation, subscription billing, supplier ordering, daily wastage reporting, review request post-visit.
04Move
Integrations
Square / Toast / Lightspeed POS, Stripe, Google Business Profile, Klaviyo, supplier ordering (Hasty, Beanhunter).
05Move
Benchmarks
Transactions/day, food attach %, average ticket, milk waste %, and 90-day customer-return rate vs UK specialty cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from leading UK roasters (Square Mile, Origin, Workshop) and multi-site indie groups.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a coffee shop often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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