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Learning how to open a cafe gives you the opportunity to dive into unique cafe ideas. From the customers to people working at a cafe, leaning into a unique idea for the cafe gives time spent there a more delightful experience. For all types of cafes, unique cafe ideas can add to the business model and food service of the cafe.
There’s also a lot to learn about cafe businesses outside of the design and atmosphere plans. When you’re opening a cafe, you should learn about the cost to open a cafe, writing a cafe business plan, cafe inventory management, and marketing strategy for cafe businesses. You’ll also want to look into cafe regulations and cafe management. Restaurant tech will also help.
When you’re opening a cafe and you need something to put energy into besides those business needs, lean into fun and unique cafe ideas. They’ll enhance your cafe business and give you something fun to work on, as well as helping with guest retention through great customer retention strategies. This BinWise blog is your place to discover some unique cafe ideas.
Cafe Theme Ideas
Giving your cafe business a theme can help you effortlessly make use of unique cafe ideas. There is so much variety in the theme options you can choose from, so you can truly make this idea your own. These three cafe theme ideas are all excellent, you can’t go wrong with any of them, whether you’re hosting brunch or setting up for dinners and coordinating with your executive chef.
3. Indoor Garden Theme
An indoor garden theme is a great way to brighten up your cafe and bring life into the space. You can have a mix of hanging plants, shelved plants along the walls, and potted plants. If you have an outdoor space you can even have a classic garden area.
2. Book Cafes
Book cafes are a theme that has been rising in popularity, and there is still so much room for this wonderful theme to grow. One of the best options for starting a book cafe is to create a space where customers can sit and dine, and also browse bookshelves.
1. Parisian Theme
A Parisian theme is excellent for so many cafes. The classical, relaxed setting of a cafe immediately invites themes from Paris and French living in general. You can lean into the Parisian theme by looking at famous Paris cafes and emulating their style and menu options.
Cafe Food Presentation Ideas
Among the unique cafe ideas that relate to the direct customer experience are unique cafe food presentation ideas. Having delicious food should be your main goal from day one. To emphasize that goal, cafe food presentation gives you a way to spruce up each dish. These three ideas will give you a feel for how you can change up food presentation.
3. Cafe-Themed Dishware
Cafe-themed dishware is a subtle way of branding your cafe and sprucing up every dish. Something as simple as a logo stamped in a brand color on each plate, bowl, and cup will give you a uniformed food presentation.
2. Semi-Table Prepared Dishes
When you think about semi-table prepared dishes, the image that comes to mind is likely something along the lines of a hibachi grill type of place. While your cafe might make use of those tools, this tip can apply to anything that involves the meal presentation taking part at the table.
1. Edible Garnishes
Edible garnishes are one of the most beautiful and tasteful ways to incorporate food presentation into the ideas of your cafe business. From edible flowers to drinks with a skewer of treats involved, edible garnishes are a win with every customer.
Cafe Holiday Ideas
Cafe holiday ideas are a unique subset of cafe themes in some cases, and a completely unique type of unique cafe idea in others. The mix of ideas among these three cafe holiday ideas showcase the range of ways you can celebrate different holidays in your cafe, to wow your customers any day of the year.
3. Unconventional National Holiday Celebrations
There are so many national holidays we celebrate these days. They include things like National Cocktail Day, National Pinot Grigio Day, International Bagpipe Day, and National Wine Day. You can celebrate all these holidays and more for a unique theme throughout the year.
2. Holiday Promotions
Holiday promotions aren’t just about the unique national holidays. You can lean into promotions for the typical holidays throughout the year. Holidays spent out and about, like Valentine’s Day or Halloween, are particularly well suited to these promotions.
1. Special Birthday Treats
Special birthday treats are something you would benefit from having on hand for any birthdays that come into your cafe. From unique menu items to a special delivery method, giving customers a special way to celebrate birthdays will add something extra to your cafe.
"Key Takeaway: Unique cafe ideas will enhance your cafe business and give you something fun to work on, as well as helping with guest retention through great customer retention strategies."
Frequently Asked Questions About Unique Cafe Ideas
Playing around with unique cafe ideas gives you the opportunity to expand on your idea of what a cafe can be. Our answers to these frequently asked questions will also invite that opportunity. Making your cafe stand out is a running theme, and we’ll also dip into how a unique cafe can lead to greater profits and long-term success.
What Can Make a Cafe Unique?
Anything done with passion can make a cafe unique. Of course, having some fun ideas also helps. The nine ideas in this blog post are a good place to start. Ultimately, however, any idea that comes from a place of love for your business and joy in helping customers will lead to a unique, popular cafe.
How Can I Make My Cafe Stand Out?
You can make your cafe stand out from all the rest by doing competitor research and finding a niche that hasn’t been filled in your location. Maybe there are lots of brunch cafes, but not many dessert cafes. Perhaps there are mainly places that stick to promotions that everyone does, without adding holiday deals. Whatever the case may be, do something different from your business neighbors.
How Can I Attract More Customers To My Cafe?
You can attract more customers to your cafe by innovating your marketing plans and keeping up with them, and making your cafe experience unique and memorable for customer experience and customer satisfaction. Those two practices paired together will bring in new guests and keep them coming back time and again.
How Can I Make My Cafe More Profitable?
You can make your cafe more profitable by expanding how many people you can serve and mastering your menu selections. You can expand to serve more people by opening more locations and extending into a sidewalk cafe. Mastering your menu selections means taking care with pricing when it comes to the dishes where you can price properly.
Finding Unique Plans for Cafes: Showcase What Makes Your Cafe One-of-a-Kind
These nine unique cafe ideas will give you the place to start to find the niche for your cafe. You can use these ideas as they are, or use them as a jumping-off point. Either way, finding the unique parts of your cafe plan will make your business successful, and bring joy to your work.
As you gather unique cafe ideas and set up your business, reach out to BinWise and BlueCart. The BinWise Pro inventory program, paired with the BinScan mobile app, eases the process when you do inventory. BlueCart’s order management software simplifies your order management system.