For independent cafés
Help with the numbers behind your café.
When you are busy running the café, finding time to understand its sales and costs can be difficult. Get a clearer view of what is happening and a practical plan for what to look at next.
For owners who care about the place they have built.
Your café might be trading well but leaving less than expected. You may be unsure about a price increase, a growing menu or whether the quieter parts of the week are worth opening for.
Third Place Advisory helps established independent cafés and coffee shops work through those questions using their existing trading records. The work is most useful when you have information to draw on, but limited time or in-house analytical support.
We start with your concern and what you already know about the business. You do not need a finished brief or a polished spreadsheet to get in touch.
The decisions we can examine.
- Prices and the menu. What individual items contribute after product costs, how often they sell and how the menu works as a whole.
- Staffing and the shape of the week. Sales, transactions and labour across trading periods, including the work that happens outside service.
- Opening hours and new offers. What extra trade would be needed to cover the costs that would change.
- Waste, discounts and delivery. Where the records suggest a pattern worth investigating and what needs checking.
The answer is not automatically to increase prices or reduce staffing. Your customers, service standards and the practical work behind each product are part of the decision.
The fictional review example shows how a finding can become a sensible test.
Begin with a one-off review.
The Hospitality Performance Review focuses on an agreed question or set of priorities. You receive a plain-English report and action plan, a 60–90-minute discussion, and a follow-up around 30 days later.
The founding-client fee is £150 for an agreed one-off project. A sample of your records is checked before the scope is confirmed. Read the fee arrangement and what is included before deciding whether it is right for you.
There is no need to commit to ongoing work to start. If regular help would be useful, ongoing commercial support is available separately, with indicative single-site fees of £450–£650 a month. The work and time allowance are agreed in writing.
Independent support, grounded in service.
The business is based in Holmes Chapel, with an initial focus on Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Much of the analysis can be carried out remotely; meeting arrangements and any need for a visit are agreed before work begins.
The approach combines around four years in café and restaurant service roles with experience in range analysis for a major UK supermarket. That means considering the decisions behind the numbers as well as the work involved in serving customers. Read about the person doing the work.
Support also extends to independent restaurants, pubs and bars. The analysis is shaped around each venue’s own menu, trading pattern and operating model.
Clear about the role.
This is commercial analysis, not an accountancy service. I am not an accountant and do not provide bookkeeping, tax advice or accounts preparation.
The aim is to help you make better-informed decisions. I do not guarantee increased profit or a return on the fee. Recommendations are discussed with you, including the assumptions, practical implications and any gaps in the evidence.