Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
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91 www.baristamagazine.com other? There's also the question of whether you'll achieve ample profits if you're paying twice the labor. It's a math problem shop owners have to work out to determine whether it's worthwhile for them: Is the revenue from food enough to amply cover the labor required to produce it? For Blueprint, the answer has been a resounding yes. Kevin says that because Blueprint does both hot plates and bakery items, the shop can execute at a higher level by investing a little bit more in labor, regularly scheduling two cooks. Both cooks focus on executing orders for hot food in the morning, then in the afternoon, one person does all the prep work for the next day's baked goods. "Having the two people in the kitchen made it so that we could focus on tomorrow and today at the same time, which just helped us be much more prepared," Kevin says. The extra help also means food gets out faster, which keeps customers happy. "Our hot-food sales have really increased over the course of the last year or so because people are getting something that is good and it comes out quickly," Kevin says. H o l d i n g f o c u s While efficiency is key to finding success in small spaces, café owners say another approach is almost as vital: Focus. Provender Coffee & 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 other items. Tony Ferrari, who co-owns Provender Coffee with his brother Austin, says an integral part of serving great food out of a small space has been identifying goals and working hard to execute them. "Since it is such a small kitchen, we get to focus on the perfection and consistency of what we do offer," says Tony. "So it's more focused and cared for with a proper direction, rather than scattered everywhere." This focus extends to the menu, where Tony says limiting the offerings has helped Provender deliver the best possible food to its customers. "In the two years we've been open, we have played with the menu quite a lot," he says. "In the end, we had to remind ourselves we're just a little humble coffee shop with limited space, so we decided to keep it simple with stuff that goes well on the go and with coffee." However, as Provender Coffee and other small shops with great food demonstrate, it's possible to have a simple menu that is still sophisticated, flavorful, and delicious. While maximizing efficien- cies and maintaining focus are important approaches for achiev- ing this goal, Suzanne from Bartavelle Coffee & Wine Bar says that doesn't mean shops with small kitchens can't keep pushing boundaries. "If you're a creative person in the kitchen, something will al- ways catch your eye and you'll say, 'I want to try that,'" she says. " You can still do that in a small kitchen, and in some ways I think it's essential because otherwise you won't change and evolve. But you just have to pay extra attention to what you're doing, and always come back around to if it that makes sense for your shop and your kitchen."