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So, if you were setting up a café catering predominantly for cyclists but also other general public users, parents/families etc, what would you look for?
My number one request is hot drinks available in pint mugs...
good quality hot drinks. Yes offer coffee/tea in a pint mug but also a proper latte etc. (from a proper machine with a proper barista not a button press instant copy version) and some quality tea rather than a cheap tea bag.
Good fresh made cake and biscuits/flapjack
A good burger and bacon sandwich
Most of all ingredients that are tasty not the cheap sausage/bacon etc. fresh ingredients sourced locally and well put together, it doesn't need to be fancy but it should be good
. a rack outside with quality locks hanging round it, unlocked and ready to use.
. comfortable seats. (leather? easy to clean of mud)
. reasonably priced fare, not 4 quid for a coffee!
. free to use quality tools (track pump, hex keys, pliers etc)
. next to a scenic waterfall or mountain with big windows to look out of. 😛
Outside tap with fresh water so I can fill my bottle, clean my hands, arms ,face etc.
Also good for people with dogs.
Couldn't give a crap what they sell as I'll eat or drink anything after a big session. I also don't care about price as it's a convenience but I won't stop if I'm a minging mud and sweat covered man-beast.
A selection of take out mid ride snacks are also handy. Not chocolate bars but trail mix, jelly beans, haribo etc
Minimal draughts/drafts however it's spelled.
Maximum draughts.....and a good selection of bottled beer too 😀
Cake.
A pile of mtb and other magazines in a corner for customers to read if on own. A few healthy and high protein options food wise. Dancing bears.
No roadies!
Wipe down seats! So I don't feel guilty about the general filth I drag in.
Water bottle refilling facilities. Bike rack in view.
I can only repeat what mikewsmith says. Those are the places I deliberately include in a ride
Cheesy Chips
Big Ketchup/mayo/salad cream/chilli Sauce bottles - not little plastic sachets
Everything Mike says, and a buxom wench serving...
Cake.
+1
In big portions and good quality.
Not all of us want burgers or bacon sandwiches, I'd prefer a hearty soup a nice panini or omelette.
Hot choc is another must have for me.
I think [url= http://www.mud-dock.co.uk/ ]Mud Dock[/url] and [url= http://sohobikes.co.uk/ ]Soho Bikes[/url]are rather good at blending a bike shop with Joe public cafe.
Mud Dock separates them and they are probably run as separate establishments, but it works seamlessly. Soho bike is more half bike shop, half coffee shop. Given the space, Soho has done really well.
I think they succeed because:
- Nice cycling staff
- Lovely kit on display
- Quality food and drink
- MTBS & Road Bikes
- Involvement/support of local community/cycling scene
But they both lack:
- Secure bike racks with locks
- Dedicated tools for customers to use (take a deposit, etc.)
- Outdoor seating
- Mud friendly (doesn't really apply to those two as their in cities).
- Have some big screens playing cycling related things- DH/XC streaming, TdF, films (Soho does do some deputes films).
Possible nice to haves:
- Discount/free drinks or food for customers of the cycling shop
- Discount for club riders
- Local ride map wall, or possibly a tablet/computer that you can download GXP files from onto the Garmin.
- Demo/rental of bikes/gear (inc. [url= https://www.quarq.com/shockwiz/#sm.000006lhtlbuyncvzuvys0og9kegm ]ShockWIz[/url], Garmin, GoPro)
My LBS [url= https://en-gb.facebook.com/banjo.cycles/ ](Banjo Cycles & Chapeau Coffee and Cake) [/url] does a nice blend, but it's squarely aimed at cyclist and don't think Joe public would ever wonder in for the cake. They do some nice coffee and cake, but no hearty meals, and the bike shop is great with lovely staff.
I guess it's a difficult blend, but maybe a hybrid between all of the above 😆 .
cheap
We'll make a good cafe a destination for a ride out, so decent hot drinks and a nice selection of good food. Nothing fancy or hand-curated by some ****er with a beard or whatever, just good quality. Sausage with [i]actual[/i] meat in, for example, or a smashing bacon and cheese burger. Bean chili is good on toast as a mid- or post-ride face stuffer - it's cheap to make and difficult to get wrong! Blimey, I'm starving...
Just somewhere that welcomes people with a load of mud up their arse.
Easiest thing would be to use those plastic chair covers you get on your car seat after it's been serviced. when you're done you whip it off and bin it.
Quality food is a must, but most of the cyclists I know are tighter than a Duck's whiffy hole when it comes to buying food.
Patience, plenty of patience.
Agree with most of what others have said, but would emphasise...
Good cheap simple filling food: beans on toast, chip butty, eggs on toast, pancakes, cheesy chips... basically anything involving toast or chips, preferably both.
I spent way too long reading an old copy of Singletrack and eating chips in this place after a ride on Sunday: http://www.pedallingsquarescafe.com/menu.html
Not all of us want burgers or bacon sandwiches, I'd prefer a hearty soup a nice panini or omelette.
Exactly - The Flock inn in Borrowdale does cumbrian rarebit, it's bloody awesome.
A really cliquey atmosphere
you answering your own question thread Longboard Si?
Racks, locks, tools, a few simple get your home spares (tubes, couple of tyre options, cables etc), indoor and outdoor seating area, outdoor covered would be perfect. Takeaway cake option, energy gels/powerbar type stuff.
Everything else is just about running a decent cafe, good food, friendly, efficient staff, priced appropriate the the area. I really wouldn't care if the cafe was themed if I was out and about and wanted to stop it's the food and facilities that would make it a preferred stop.
Quick service, especially when a group of 20 walk in. Quick-ish turnaround on any food that has to be made. Stopping for 30-45 mins mid ride is fine, sweaty bikers don't want to be sat in their cooling moistness for much longer than that!
Locks are a good shout but ideally I like to be able to see my bike, can't relax otherwise.
Forget fancy coffee that takes 5 minutes a cup.
Do a massive vat of really good filter coffee- 1.50 or 2.00 for a big mug. You'd make more money and have a fast turn around.
The old Woodbine in Hope was about spot on for me. Nothing ****y, but decent sized portions, good puds (Yorkshire Curd tart. nomnomnom) and an open fire in winter. Sure, Judith was an acquired taste (my other half got on really well with her which helped), the coffee could have been a lot better, and there was a weird refusal to do custard, which would have been a perfect finish to the YCT. It was a bit expensive, but I did walk away feeling full afterwards.
The "old" Glentress Café/shed (Hub?) and the original Glyncorrwyg setup both had it all pretty right too.
As well as a lot of the stuff posted above - prompt service - the "new" Woodbine aka Grasshopper Café falls foul of this - if I order a coffee, I get a very nice one, but I feel like I could nip over to Fairholmes and back between ordering it and getting it. Also - don't stop doing "breakfast" items (ie bacon butties) after 11.00. That's a sin to end all sins!
High protein, low carb options (way easier than it sounds - omelettes with choice of ingredients e.g. spinach, peppers, chorizo, tuna etc.).
jkomo - Member
Forget fancy coffee that takes 5 minutes a cup.
Do a massive vat of really good filter coffee- 1.50 or 2.00 for a big mug. You'd make more money and have a fast turn around.
Except for people who don't want that 😉 Don't exclude people a good barista on a machine can put that stuff out at a decent rate - they manage quite well in morning rushes in plenty of places.
A proper greasy spoon, run by old woman who look hard and understand food should be piping hot and plentiful. A place where the spoon stand's up in your tea, and the staff have a polite disinterest in whatever you have been doing before you go in.
Ideally this will be next door to a destination cafe with proper coffee from whatever proper coffee comes from, and people can talk about this at great length. A place well stocked in lifestyle magazines, and free wifi. It should have locally sourced ingredients and a range of fancy cake at a price to satisfy their market.
Then everyone can be happy.
It's fairly clear that people want different things.
In the most case it'll get used if it has a good location with the most basic of facilities as mentioned above. Fancy ingredients and coffee would help if there is local competition or you want to make it an actual destination
Comically surly proprietor is a plus point, obviously. Extra marks for passive-aggressive or sarcastic signage.
Bloke who used to run Grindleford Cafe was a case in point.
Make sure it is sunny outside.
Petes Eats.... welcomes all, loads of space, great facilities etc. huge tasty food portions, and somewhere to hide from the weather
always interesting to sit there and watch the other punters...
Bloke who used to run Grindleford Cafe was a case in point.
A place that in the end I only visited if there was truly nothing else open... a true homage to bad old days where you thought that almost everything you could have done better yourself.
Cold lager in pint tumblers. Who doesn't want a pint after a run?LongboardSi - Member
My number one request is hot drinks available in pint mugs...
a) somebody who knows how to run a cafe and use their staff to effectively churn through customers at peak time - you have to be either damn good or the only option if you think a queue out of the door is acceptable
b) somebody who knows how to design a cafe layout to support a)
c) separation of taking the order/money and fulfilling the order
d) food being served to the table MUST arrive whilst there's still at least half a mug of tea left
If you want an example of how to fail on all four, go to Gisburn Forest at the weekend ...
Easiest thing would be to use those plastic chair covers you get on your car seat after it's been serviced. when you're done you whip it off and bin it.
This would peeve me - there are plenty of wipe clean options that don't require a big piece of plastic to go to landfill for every customer. And they'd look really shit too.
My solution would probably have a "dirty side" for the muddy bikers, with a hoseable floor and suitable seating (wood, plastic, leather would all work) and maybe a carpets and softer furnishings side for the families and non-bike types.
A covered outside area for bikers and bikes, maybe with some kind of planet friendly heating in the winter?
Cakes. Pre made sarnies.
I'd be happy enough if hot food was limited to toasting the pre made sarnies (a la Costa) and maybe a bit vat of hearty soup.
Also adding proper bread - not sliced white or brown. One that was made by a baker that day.
1. Good tea and coffee
2. Cake. Good range of cake. Pref local from a proper cakey old person
3. Some clean bogs
4. Tap outside
5. Hopefully outside seating with optional shade
6. Real positive attitude/friendliness from staff and active community/local interest evident in the café
Very top of the scale for me would be a bikey version of [url= https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g552064-d5321220-Reviews-Quarry_Cafe-Machynlleth_Powys_Wales.html ]The Quarry Café in Mach[/url]. And I'm not a vegetarian, they just serve hand's down the best and tastiest cafe food I've ever had. Wholesome, hearty, warm and friendly. <--- Four key words.
Some really good thoughts here…..
…..a couple of things stand out for me whilst I think about it:
1. Must be able to see the bikes - good food spoiled by stressing over the bikes is always a let down
2. Food portions need to be huge - Pete's Eats mentioned above is a great example!
3. Food needs to be good quality but menu doesn't need to be complicated (beans, cheese, eggs on toast all good - bacon butties, burgers, chips, chilli, soup, home made cakes all v good!)
4. Our current destination of choice (on road rides) is here, which has more or less all of the above :
One Planet at Llandegla is a good example of what's good BUT when it first opened it was TERRIBLE - the menu was more or less the same as now but the service was just awful - we went on a family ride once and waited over an hour for food - they cracked it fairly soon afterwards and I have to say the service there now is great, even if you order something slightly more complicated like their OPA burger/chips…..so a key message there has to be about Service and Speed of delivery!
Somewhere safe to leave my bike - however that happened
The ability to come in muddy - maybe a separate room with hard chairs, or a
nicer one if you aren't muddy/are a roadie
Good coffee (good evaluated by someone who drinks coffee)
Really cold soft drinks or just one of those draught hoses like pubs have but with lots of ice. Icy but not too fizzy soft drinks are the best when thirsty.
Outside covered seating
Good chips - either on their own or with cheese/chilli etc. Nothing better after a ride.
A brush to brush mud off of back and shoes and legs etc. You may well have wipe down chairs but it's still nice to knock off the loose mud.
Fast service. Some cycling stuff about is ok but don't make it feel like it's a cyclist only place. Don't have videos on loop etc.
In the winter people want it warm but you will also need good ventelation. Wet people plus hot room = horrible steamy atmosphere
If i'm paying you to make me a cup / mug of tea.... take the ****ing tea bag out and put some bloody milk in.