Picture framing & coffee shop ?

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realhotglass

realhotglass

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 20, 2003
Posts
662
Loc
Adelaide - South Australia
Well, I figure if this is being done anywhere, it will be in the US !

A framing client has talked to me about having an extension of their frame shop, with quality coffee / other such items.

I found Jennifers old thread here http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?t=13058 from mid last year.

(Did you go anywhere with that Jennifer ?)

Then I recalled the comment from matt medium on the BB sales figures thread "i used to work for einstein bagels (i'm going somewhere with this, trust me.) and i was blown away to find out that the majority of their profit was from coffee sales, not bagels. it costs them 6 cents to brew a full pot of coffee. then realize that each pot can serve up to 10 individuals and you're charging them 2-3 dollars a cup. what mark-up, what profit. the bagels draw them in but the coffee floats the business."

This particular location is high end, lots of traffic (not so much foot traffic though), but lots of local businesses and no coffee shop for miles.
Their local business association has asked if anyone is keen to try a coffee type operation, so there is interest from the locals.

So . . . do any of you know website URL's for any frame shop / gallery actually doing this ?
 
As I read this a picture formed in my mind of a valuable limited edition print on my design counter with a cup of Java next to it just waiting for one careless move......:cry:

Seriously - I would have several metres and, preferably, a door between the eating/drinking area and the framing area.
 
Just make sure you have a drive-thru capability. I have observed that more and more people don't want to hoist their fannies to walk into a shop if there is a drive-thru. Of course, I know nothing of the food service business, so why listen to me?
 
I really doubt somebody buying a cup of coffee will have an instant revelation and whip out a neatly folded (canvas, print, poster, picture, diploma, etc) from their back pocket and decide to have it framed.

Very few people mill around a coffee shop and those are usually students or teenagers having no where else to go. The others are usually people running in & out for a a dose of caffeine on their way to work.

And then there are those double Espresso or large Cappuccino with Cinnamon spills.....

One thing that might be an advantage (if it can be quantified) is the exposure.
 
I have a friend back in So. IL who incorporated a coffee shop in her frameshop and did quite well with it. Her demise didn't come from spilled coffee on the artwork, it came from a general lack of business in a large area of overall unemployment and little or no state support for new business incentives South of the Cook county line.

(That is the trigger to a very old line of argument amongst the business owners in So. IL that goes back many years.)

She eventually lost interest and went on to pursue other interests I think but I do know that she controlled the "flow" of her coffee customers over to the frameshop. She had signs up to ask that customers finish their drinks before entering the shop for safety's sake.

(She was kinda feisty and I never knew if she meant anything personal by that sign!)
 
We have a Starbucks and another coffee place in our shopping center, so I would not be able to sell coffee.

However, I have a small fridge out front loaded with small sodas and bottled water we give away to customers. They are always surprised when they pick one up and ask "how much for the water or soda?" and I say "it's customer appreciation day, so it's free."

I've been seriously thinking about putting in a coffee bar and giving away free coffee too. I think it will build good will, and once the word gets out, bring in more customers. Now, who will make the coffee every morning, and clean the pot every afternoon???
Bill
Ocean Art
 
Thanks Bill for jogging my memory about my very good friend, Markg1 who was a regular on this forum for years!! He was also one of my neighbors and operated a frameshop although we never looked on each other as "competition". He carried a line of special coffees in his shop and always had a pot brewing when his customers walked in. Not for sale, it was just his friendly way of saying "Welcome".

He DID sell the coffee that was packaged though and he had that line in for a couple of years that I remember so he must have sold a few bags to someone.

I think that is a very nice jesture for a shop owner.
 
There is a winery/frame shop/ art gallery here in North Carolina. It has been in business for quite a while.

http://www.germantongallery.com/

Not exactly what you were looking for but close.

I've been there. It is a nice place.

I wouldn't get much framing done having all that wine around, but I bet life would be more fun.
 
There is one about 30 minutes up the highway from where I live. Very small framing component and well separated from the coffee shop area. When I was researching it all I went in and looked about. Less than 100 corners, and two feet of mats to choose from - 4x4 design counter.

Coffee shop had a lot more emphasis and space with muffins and cookies, etc. Felt a bit like a Starbucks - except instead of coffee mugs and CDs, there was decor prints for sale on the walls.
 
Hi Rethotglass,

No, I didn't pursue it at all. To be honest, my framing business has been so busy over the last year that I haven't had a chance to even think about it.

I personally think it is a good fit, but would take a whole other staff to mind the coffee area. I don't think it is a good fit for a 1 to 2 person shop.

I also got scared when I realized how different the rules are for serving coffee. You must provide a public bathroom, health inspectors, and a lot of other things.

It was just a little more then I was willing to bite off.

I still wish one would open up near me. I think the two are a good fit!

Let us know if you try it. I'd like to hear how it comes out!
 
MyHusbandTheBaker thinks a bakery/frame shop would be great. He's working on a business plan now to try to start his own bakery somewhere, but not in here, ya don't!! I shudder at the thought.

Jen's right, health codes are incredibly strict, it's a whole 'nother ball game that I want nothing to do with.

When we had our town-wide open house, many folks wandered through my shop with cups of beer and wine and coffee and I was a nervous wreck! There was a BBQ chicken-wing booth in the parking lot out front and that really freaked me out, but folks were pretty courteous about that.

Also, the thought of having ovens going in the same building as my customers' artwork really makes my ski crawl, and probably my insurance agent's too. A coffee shop or a bakery are very warm places. I prefer my art (and myself!) be more temperature contolled.

Seems like I remember a Grumbler awhile back who had his frame shop on the second floor and his wife's bakery on the ground floor, and that worked out quite well for them.
 
surferbill said:
We have a Starbucks and another coffee place in our shopping center, so I would not be able to sell coffee.

However, I have a small fridge out front loaded with small sodas and bottled water we give away to customers. They are always surprised when they pick one up and ask "how much for the water or soda?" and I say "it's customer appreciation day, so it's free."

I've been seriously thinking about putting in a coffee bar and giving away free coffee too. I think it will build good will, and once the word gets out, bring in more customers. Now, who will make the coffee every morning, and clean the pot every afternoon???
Bill
Ocean Art
Click to expand...

We have free coffee with a nifty little setup. I'll go take a quick pic.....

Some customers are pleasantly surprised, so I keep it going out there. However, it seems to be more popular in the colder months. Also, since we open at 10AM, some customers comment that they would like a cup but they already had theirs for the day. The last customer that used it didn't... her kids filled up the coffee cups with coffee before we saw them and then asked to use the bathrooms and rolled up the toilet paper into little torpedos and threw them all over.

But at least they didn't distract mom from the sale! So, I made a fresh pot and cleaned up the bathrooms afterwards. It's like I told someone recently, "You would be AMAZED at the things I would do for $300."

I think that if a frameshop integrated an actual cafe experience it would be to try and move artwork and not custom framing. Or at least that would be the result. And then you have to be careful. Are people intested in coffee going to go somewhere else because they will feel pressured to look at or buy artwork? I'd skip it if I got so much as a "Have you seen this new release yet?" comment every time I walked in.
 

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A one time rep for a rergional vendor opened a shop in Orlando that offered custom framing and fine wines. He didn't have a huge selection of either but did a good business. Also specialized in vintage botanical prints. He would host fairly regular wine tatstings...usually underwritten by a distributor, and the occasional trunk show for vintage prints. I went to one of the latter, and ended up drinking some really good chardonay and buying a few too many Audubons...
 
Hey there Les,

"The Frame Connection" in your home town of Adelaide (Torrensville) does this (Coffee shop/ framing) successfully, as well as Mike from "Hang Ups" in Fyshwick Canberra.

Both do quite well combining their two concepts, but running them seperately. As you mentioned, location (and potential competition) plays an important key. I haven't looked into websites - but that should give you a more local starting point.

Cheers,

Jared Davis CPF, GCF
 
We just had a gallery/coffee shop go out of business here. Had to walk thru part of the gallery to get to the coffee shop, which I thought was a good idea. It was a nice place, with local framed art. I heard that the coffee shop did well, but not enough sales from the gallery side.

We have a bakery/coffee shop a few doors down from our shop. People would bring in all kinds of half eaten crap in while they were shopping. Much of it would end up on the carpet, and even found a half eaten cookie in one of our print bins one time. Lets face it....people are slobs! One time a customer brought in a very expensive print to be framed with a cup of hot coffee. Her kid was on our nice leather chair eating his cookie. You guessed it.....the coffee tipped over onto her print. Thank God it was the customer that tipped over the cup and it was her print. It could have just as easily been one of us that did it though, or another customers artwork. Then she got mad at herself and decided to not frame the damaged print. You can still see some of the stain on our carpeted counter-top. After a few more spills, I finally had enough. We now have a sign on our door that reads: "No food or drinks allowed in store. Thank You." It was the best decision we made, and wouldn't think of offering coffee in the shop. Artwork and drinks do not mix without problems.
 
Oops....my n fell off!

Yeah, having ovens going in the same building as my customers' artwork would even make a ski crawl !!
 
Try a couple of Melinex straps on that n, Val.
Fully reversible and non damaging.
Avoid silicone, unless glass to glass : )

Thanks to all for replies with thoughts and links.
Just to clarify, this is not for me, but a framer client we supply.

I'll e-mail a link to this thread to my framing acquaintance, so they can get an appreciation of the various views.

Special thanks to Jared, will drop in to The Frame Connection for a quick look.
Not a client of mine before, but a good excuse to drop in and say hello at long last.
Now, Mike at Hang Ups buys from me from time to time, so will be in the ACT in a few weeks and call in to see him.

My initial thoughts were that good coffee alone could be a complimentary offering to framing clients, but from what I understand this whole site would be up for development, and as such separate picture framing, gallery, and coffee shop (with rolls, sandwiches, cakes, etc), would be developed.

On a side note, perhaps a bakery in miniature has potential.
Nothing like the smell of fresh bread and pastries to get people in.
Subway have those neat baking ovens that fit onto a 4' x 3' or so footprint.
 
I have an idea!!

realhotglass said:
On a side note, perhaps a bakery in miniature has potential.
Nothing like the smell of fresh bread and pastries to get people in.
Subway have those neat baking ovens that fit onto a 4' x 3' or so footprint.
Click to expand...

My first shop was built on to my home (after I moved it out of the ex in-law's furniture store) I read somewhere that the smell of comfort food helped people want to buy more. I experimented and would often bake bread and make soup in the kitchen and when I did, the smell would waft into the frame shop . People who came would stay longer and buy more! It was amazing! I couldn't sell any bread (health code), but I could give it away, and often did.

Hmmm....maybe we should all have a bread-making machine going in our back rooms?

That reminds me....I onced worked in a veterinary clinic where they would bake bread in a machine in the break room.....said it helped the pets' people feel more relaxed when they came in. Seemed to help, and we got fresh bread every day! Yum!!

Who needs an entire bakery attached? (I'm gonna look for that bread machine! BakerHusband will be horrified at me! Ha!!)
 
Candy, fresh bread, coffee and tea seem like nice "perks" to offer customers, but will they draw more of them in? I doubt it. Do most consumers expect a frame shop to smell like a bakery? In my little mind, it seems that the smell of freshly-cut wood would be more appropriate for our purposes. Let's get 'em in the right mood.

Cord Camera, a photo processing/camera chain based in Columbus, recently opened a new store about a mile from my shop. It looks to be about 6,000 square feet or so, incorporating a camera department, scrapbooking department, framing department, and a coffee shop in the corner farthest from the door. It is a wide-open, spacious looking, free standing store.

That's an awful lot of overhead for any one of those business segments alone, and I wonder whether there would be enough crossover customers to make the concept pay off. When I visited about two months after they opened, the coffee shop person was in her chair, reading her book. I stepped up to the counter, complimented the nice layout, and asked whether she sells a lot of coffee/tea/other stuff from their comprehensive menu. She said it has not taken off and she hardly sells anything. Meanwhile, there were five customers in other parts of the store, but it looked really empty.

When a customer first walks in, I think the "Jack of all trades, master of none" thing hits pretty hard. In the old store, which was just a few miles down the road, the employees behind the camera counter were assumed to be photographic experts, because that's all they sold. Now, the few employees in the new store seem to monitor all departments, and I doubt they are experts in any of them. Perhaps they gave up the photographic specialty business to become a wannabe-mini-Wal-Mart; a pale shadow of the real thing less than a mile away.

As Gail and I strolled through the well-stocked framing and scrapbooking departments for about 20 minutes, we were dis-impressed that those departments were unattended, and not one employee greeted us...another vision of Wal-Mart.

I was not impressed. Will their new concept work? We'll see.
 
I think in concept it sounds like a potential win-win. Then as I analize it I think...ain't gonna happen. The disasters and health code issues above are a glimpse into some of the things that can go wrong. You could have someone sue cause the coffee burnt them. Loose moeny when you knock over a cup of coffee onto artwork. I see many issues around this addition.

If a frame shop saids..what can I add on? I would say what are you good at? Are you great at photo shop? Are you great at refinishing wood heirlooms? Are you able to make unique handfinished frames? What can you do that is closer to the framing indusrty that you are not doing that may potentially make money?

You might want to start doing photo retouching and enlarging? There are things that can be done to add on to the current sales. But putting in a $200 coffee pot doesn't seeem to be the thing in my mind. That to me is a separate business or a give away. Add on something that has value, something that is you and reflects your business.

And remember don't waste time and money on what you don't know. I have done that way too much...and that is what hurts most down the line.

PL
 
"And remember don't waste time and money on what you don't know. I have done that way too much...and that is what hurts most down the line."



Thanks for the idea Patrick!!!

TOM'S ART GALLERY
FRAME SHOP
and
AUTOBODY REPAIR​

Yeah, I can handle everything but the bondo dust in the fitting room!! :faintthud:​

(Now if I could just find that SOB who stole my tool cabinet!!!) :fire:​
 
I understand a frame shop about 15 min. from us (been around for YEARS) recently converted 1/2 of their frame shop to a coffee shop and was told that the coffee shop is making mucho more $ than the frame shop. Hmmmmmmm.

Of course, I haven't seen their "books" - it's just what I've been told.
 
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