Drinks and bakery goods use different equipment: the coffee machine for drinks, a display case for pastries. Decide the menu first, then match each item to the equipment that sells it.
1. Opening steps#
- Decide which products and services you will carry, and the space for them. Compare floor area, neighborhood and capacity in the building list with the actual lease terms. Check in game that a Coffee Shop can open there before you sign.
- Set the business type to Coffee Shop. Check the requirements in the business management screen.
- Prepare the equipment. Prepare the display equipment and stock for the products you chose. If you also sell a service, check that person's workstation and equipment separately.
- Check shifts, supply and security. Customer service and cleaning are the listed roles. The morning peak is short, so check that someone is on the register through it rather than spread evenly across the day.
- Review the results once you open. Watch demand by hour, gaps in the schedule, stock-outs and the sales equipment, and adjust.
These steps are an editorial guide. The minimum floor area, the full list of required equipment, exact quantities and headcount have not been verified in game — check the business management screen as well.
2. Products, services and supply#
Main products
| Product | Display equipment / capacity | Supply route | Lowest sale price / unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Coffee Machineholds 300 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $3.90prices by neighborhood | |
| Bakery Showcaseholds 100 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $7.20prices by neighborhood | |
| Bakery Showcaseholds 100 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $5.20prices by neighborhood | |
| Bakery Showcaseholds 100 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $3.80prices by neighborhood | |
| Industrial Coffee Machineholds 300 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $3.90prices by neighborhood |
5 additional products
| Product | Display equipment / capacity | Supply route | Lowest sale price / unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden Product Crateholds 50 | 6 wholesalersSeaSide Internationalssupply detailsfactory recipe | $2.89prices by neighborhood | |
| Wooden Product Crateholds 50 | 6 wholesalersSeaSide Internationalssupply detailsfactory recipe | $2.35prices by neighborhood | |
| Ice Cream Counterholds 150 Industrial Freezer (Small)holds 150 Industrial Freezerholds 300 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $11.50prices by neighborhood | |
| Salad Barholds 350 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $13.00prices by neighborhood | |
| Drinks Fridgeholds 120 Drinks Fridge (Large)holds 360 | 6 wholesalersJetCargo Imports, SeaSide Internationals, United Ocean Import, BlueStone Importssupply detailsfactory recipe | $3.00prices by neighborhood |
Sale prices are reference values at 100% satisfaction with trained staff. Purchase data assumes default difficulty and a fully skilled purchasing manager, and can move with supply. A missing entry does not prove an item cannot be bought. We do not quote a margin from comparing wholesale and import prices that use different units.
3. Equipment and setup cost#
This links the display equipment from the product table, the staff workstations and the listed security equipment. It includes alternative displays and equipment for additional products, so it is not a shopping list. Read product capacity and customer capacity as two different things.
| Equipment | Why it is listed | Customer capacity | Lowest listed price / unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 unit counted in the example total | main product · Cup Of Coffee main product · Cup of Tea | 30 | $4,700.00Square Appliances1 stores
|
| 1 unit counted in the example total | main product · Croissant main product · Cupcake main product · Donut | 20 | $895.00Square Appliances1 stores
|
| extra product · Bag of Apples extra product · Bag of Bananas | 15 | $150.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Ice Cream | 30 | $1,800.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Ice Cream | 15 | $2,800.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Ice Cream | 30 | $4,800.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Salad | 20 | $4,000.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Soda Can | 20 | $875.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| extra product · Soda Can | 50 | $2,200.00Square Appliances1 stores
| |
| 1 unit counted in the example total | staff workstation · Customer Service | 20 | $900.00AJ Pederson & Son4 stores
|
| 1 unit counted in the example total | staff workstation · Cleaning | — | $100.00AJ Pederson & Son4 stores
|
The example total is neither the full startup cost nor a minimum requirement. It counts one unit each, without duplicates, of the first listed display equipment for every main product plus the staff workstations and security equipment that could be linked. Equipment only used by additional products is left out. Budget separately for rent, deposit, desks, chairs, other furniture, stock, delivery, wages and extra units as you grow.
4. Staff and shifts#
| Role | Listed workstation | Recruited at |
|---|---|---|
| Cash Register | Anderson Recruitment Corp. | |
| Cleaning Station | Anderson Recruitment Corp. |
Customer service and cleaning are the listed roles. The morning peak is short, so check that someone is on the register through it rather than spread evenly across the day.
The listed roles are not a headcount. Build the schedule from the hours you actually open, the number of workstations and the contract terms, and check in game whether roles missing from the list are needed.
The security field is empty in the source business data. Do not read that as security equipment being unnecessary.
5. Opening hours and footfall#
Averaging the daily figures hour by hour, 6:00 · 7:00 · 8:00 is the busiest slot, at 92.1%. That is the mean across all seven days — see the table below for the differences between days.
| Day | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 65 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 80 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 25 | 25 | 70 | 70 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Tue | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 64 | 98 | 98 | 98 | 78 | 78 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 25 | 25 | 69 | 69 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Wed | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 62 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 76 | 76 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 24 | 24 | 67 | 67 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Thu | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 60 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 74 | 74 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 23 | 23 | 64 | 64 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Fri | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 59 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 72 | 72 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 23 | 23 | 63 | 63 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Sat | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 55 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 68 | 68 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 21 | 21 | 60 | 60 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Sun | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 55 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 68 | 68 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 21 | 21 | 60 | 60 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
These are visitors as a share of maximum capacity, not revenue or margin. A 0% is a recorded value, not a closed hour. Blanks show as ‘—’. Set your real opening hours by weighing demand against wages and running costs.
6. Checks while running#
What to check first in a Coffee Shop
If one menu item stops selling, check that item's stock and its display equipment first. If everything stops, check register cover and opening hours.
The equipment is there but nothing runs
Check the business type and opening requirements, then whether staff are linked to workstations, then the hours they work. If you sell products, check stock and display equipment too. The capacity column alone does not tell you how many customers can actually be served.
Checking supply and delivery
Check the vendors in the purchase data per item. If you import, review the warehouse, vehicles, drivers and logistics setup in Importing and delivery.