Opening a café: what people don't always tell you (30 years of experience to share)

For nearly thirty years, Café Castelo has been helping passionate entrepreneurs open and grow their coffee shops.
Before being a brand, we are first and foremost a roasting and distribution company. We've had the privilege of working with a number of cafés: Brûlerie Europa, Café Noisette, La Cafétière, les Cafés de Julie, Les caprices d'Alice, le Café Shelterand many others.

Over the years, we've seen dreams come true, projects transformed, and above all, passionate people learning and growing in a profession that's as demanding as it is rewarding.

Today, we wanted to share with you a few essential points to keep in mind before taking the plunge. Not the advice you'd read in a textbook, but the truths you'd discover by actually living the business.

1. There will never be a "good time".

We often say to ourselves: "I'll wait for the right moment."
But the truth is, it doesn't exist.

Even with the best intentions, the right partners and meticulous preparation, there will always be something unforeseen: a delay, an unexpected cost, a decision to be delayed - and that's normal.

Some people dream of opening a café when they retire, thinking it will be a quiet hobby. But a café is a business in its own right. You have to be present, attentive and organized. It's an environment of passion, yes, but also of rhythm, service, management and consistency.

Opening a café is above all a commitment.
A project that requires heart, patience and a good dose of flexibility.

2. There will always be critics ..and that's okay

Even if you choose the best roasting house, the best coffees, the best location and the most beautiful design, there will always be someone who doesn't like it.

It's inevitable.

There will be comments, comparisons, "I would have done it differently".
You have to learn to listen to what's constructive, without letting it get you down.
The most important thing is that you like what you do, that you're proud of your product and that your loyal customers like to come back.

You can't please everyone, but you can please those who are like you.
And they are your true community.

 3. You'll be wearing several hats

When you open a café, you soon discover that you become a bit of everything:
manager, barista, accountant, content creator, technician, buyer, negotiator...

Some can afford to hire specialists right from the start.
Others have to learn, read, train, try, fail, try again ... and that's perfectly normal! (You need to have patience, especially with yourself).

Today, we have access to an incredible amount of content and training.
At Café Castelo, we offer a complete barista training course to help our partners understand the art of coffee and the basics of the "Castelo bar".

And above all, we don't leave our customers on their own. When we support you in your opening, we're there to answer your questions, adjust your machines, carry out tests and taste the coffees together. It's a real partnership.

Coffee is an area of expertise, but being an entrepreneur means being a generalist.

You have to dare to learn, surround yourself with people and trust yourself.

4. Your café's identity: what people feel

You can have the best coffee and the best location in the world, but what people will remember is how they felt when they came to your place.

That's why it's important to define it right from the start:

• the personality of your café,

• the audience you want to reach,

• and above all, the emotion you want to create.

Some coffee shops are peaceful refuges, others are meeting places.
Some coffee shops are also workspaces, while others are part of a hairdressing salon, cat sanctuary or family space.

There's no wrong formula, but you simply have to know who you are.
The strongest marketing today is authentic marketing: the kind that reflects your values, your tastes and your reality.

What you remember about a café is as much the richness of the cup as the atmosphere you discover. We remember it for the warmth we felt.

 

5. Consistency: being "better than ever", every day

At Café Castelo, our promise, Better than ever, has become much more than a slogan: it's a philosophy.

In a café, as in any business, consistency does not mean "staying the same".
It means having the same passion, the same energy and the same high standards as on the first day.
Challenging yourself, observing, adjusting, daring to change what you took for granted in order to continue to progress.

Consistency also means making tough decisions for the good of your team and your company. Sometimes you have to let go of someone you like, simply because it's the wrong person in the wrong chair.
These decisions are demanding, but they're part of the role of an entrepreneur: to protect the mission and coherence of your company.

Being "better than ever" means choosing every day to move forward with lucidity, respect and passion, even when it's difficult.

Café Castelo: 30 years of support and the same passion

For almost three decades, Café Castelo has been accompanying coffee shops, sharing not only our coffees, but also our experience, our tools and our passion.

Because in the end, opening a café is much more than a business idea.
It's a human adventure, made up of work, emotions, challenges and small daily victories.

And it's been a privilege, for the past thirty years, to be part of it.

 

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