My thoughts on the opinion that coffee shops should be recognized as space rentals
On my day off, I do office work while drinking coffee...
Although it's a public holiday, we are closed today.
I wake up a little later and get to work.
Now then…
On Twitter, I read tweets divided into lists such as those related to coffee and the Showa-cho area, and one person who runs a coffee-related business wrote that "coffee shops should be recognized as rental space."
When I searched on Google, I found that there were surprisingly many people who felt the same way, which surprised me personally.
I don't think it's a big deal for chain stores like Starbucks, Komeda's, McDonald's, and family restaurants, and it's not my concern, but I think it's probably different for independent stores.
We can't specialize in the pursuit of convenience, and we shouldn't compete on the same level.
We don't want customers to come to our store with the mindset that "a cafe is just a place to rent out space" or "if I have another space, I don't need to come to this store."
I don't mean to sound particularly superior, but people like that often don't fit in with the atmosphere of the store. Perhaps it's because there's a mismatch between the value we provide and theirs...
I would like people who feel that this is the only place they can come to come at that time.
I would like our store to be that kind of place too.
How customers spend their time at the store varies from customer to customer.
Change your mood, think slowly, chat, read, work...
Of course, customers have a lot of autonomy in their choices and there are many different ways to spend their time there, but independently run cafes and coffee shops don't just "provide a place," they want customers to feel that it's a total experience.
In that sense, I personally think it's similar to a theme park or an amusement park.
As a store, we have a philosophy of "we would like to provide this kind of experience and enjoyment to these types of people, and we think they will be happy," so we hope that people who fit those values will come to our store.
Individual cafes and coffee shops are people-centered and more focused on empathy and relationships.
I guess that's how it is...
