Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
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88 barista magazine T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f e f f i c i e n c y Repurposing ingredients is a move meant to improve efficiency, and as a rule, owners of shops with small kitchens stress that ef- ficiency is one of the main keys to success. Blueprint Coffee, a café-roastery in St. Louis, Mo., houses its retail café, roast- ery, and 150-square-foot kitchen in a total of less than 1,800 square feet. Blueprint Coffee general manager Kevin Reddy says that from an approach standpoint, he likes the efficiency that having a small space necessitates. These limitations forced his team to be very deliberate with their choice of equipment for Blueprint's breakfast-focused menu, which includes a six-burner range, convection oven, and prep table. "Before we built the space, I budgeted enough space specifically for the equipment that we had," he says. "So it's down to the inch." The efficiency extends to the way that Blueprint employs labor in the kitchen, a crucial concern for any shop that offers food, but one that is considerably more complicated when facing the space limita- tions of a cramped kitchen. Sure, you can produce food faster with multiple cooks, but will they fit into the galley without knocking elbows or backing in to each At top: Provender Coff ee & Food, a 300-square-foot shop in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, has a 100-square-foot kitchen that turns out homemade baked goods, toasts, and more. Below: Staff at work in the 60-square-foot kitchen that Fernwood Coff ee Co. shares with its sister business, Parsonage Café. The Victoria, B.C.-based operation's success is dependent on every moving part working in tandem, says owner, Ben Cram.