The Instant Coffee Shop: How to open a café in one week

by Darcy Millar

“ If you read this book and absorb its contents, once you have secured a site and stocked up with the minimum necessary equipment, you will be able to serve your first cup of coffee within seven days. It won’ t be easy – it may even be the hardest working week of your life – but it is certainly doable. I know, because I have done it myself. The book even includes a seven-day countdown to opening, with tips on cost-effective short cuts and an invaluable list of key pitfalls to avoid.” Author Darcy Millar is the owner of two bustling coffee shops in Copenhagan. Here he shares how he did it and shows how you can do it, too. This is a complete practical guide to opening a modern coffee shop, covering every aspect with detailed, step-by-step advice on subjects from the essential how to brew good coffee to how to design and fit out a venue that suits your aims, whatever your budget. You’ ll learn how to strike a balance between take-aways and sit-down business; how to promote your coffee shop, importantly via social media; how to attract and retain the best staff; how to interact with customers and build the regular clientele which is the lifeblood of any café ; and how to balance the needs of freelancers looking for a place to work while also creating a lively, friendly atmosphere and generating turnover. You will be shown how to profitably expand your food offering to serve alongside the coffee – you’ d be amazed at what you can achieve with a single toastie machine – and learn the advantages of a commercial dishwasher, along with much, much more.

208 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's say you have a dream to open your very own coffee shop with all the coffees that will wake up the whole town, with all the pastries that will make all mouths water, and modern design that will attract the fanciest and most famous influencers and hipsters in the country to make a photo of latte art on their coffee and background - logo on the window of your cafe. This book will crush this image just like tax filing and paying after getting revenue, but it will also help you a bunch in making this happen and getting closer to this image making, it slightly more realistic.

It's a well-curated and well-balanced personal story offering suggestions and best practices for opening the coffee shop with an unfiltered reality of what you may run into during the setup of the shop and managing its employees. Won't mention a lot, but who knew the water supply could be that much of an issue and make-or-break situation to make your cafe function? And I'm sure Darcy Millar saved us from seeing some other pain points that would make one rethink the sensibility of an idea to open a cafe. But not to scare you too much, the author simplifies and explains a lot that will help to open the business, sometimes even providing an actual checklist!

This book woke up my old dream of opening a cafe and making it sound not easy but possible.
But let's be fair, still 4 stars, yet fully deserved. A bit watery at times, but you shouldn't mind it much while and after drinking it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Morten Kølln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strikingly practical, inspirational and yet still pragmatic this book offers a step by step plan for how you can start your own café, and what you might want to serve in there. It describes the startup barriers as being fairly low, but also offers advice about what the deterrents might be - better to think twice, than ended up regretting starting up a business.

For those of us that do not have much practical barista experience (personally, I am more on baked goods side of things), the book even has a chapter on how to compose each of the standard milk based coffee drinks.

There is also a historical perspective offered, where the origins of the coffee house might also inspire how and why you might want to implement certain things in your café design.

The historical chapter also raises the one follow up topic I would have for Darcy after reading the book. If the coffee house concept grew strong based on the concept of artists and intellectuals creating artistic outputs and thinking grand thoughts, do we not risk losing the culture that made us fall in love with café's in the first place, if we now put an emphasis on laptop-bans and getting customers out the door as quick as possible? Even though it is not viable to have freelancers occupying tables for 8 hours a day doing corporate assignments, there must be a way where the Patti Smiths, David Lynch'es and Hemingways of the future can sit, think and write for a couple of hours.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to personally thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this early for a free review.

This book was such a cozy read! I had the pleasure of reading this gem right as the weather was starting to cool and the leaves were changing colors. As a fellow bookworm, one of my dreams has always been to open a coffee shop, but I never knew where to start. This author did such an amazing job creating a warm and inviting atmosphere while always delivering solid information. It truly felt as if I were out to coffee with a friend who had all of the experience and knowledge. The author didn't just included a a "how to", but also the history of coffee, and how each bean plays it's part. it was really neat. I loved this book, and will be buying a hard copy of it once it comes out.

[Yolanda | yolandaannmarie.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Ad Lib Publishers for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Instant Coffee Shop releases September 11, 2023


Am I planning on opening a coffee shop? No.
Do I love coffee, work in the restaurant industry, and love entrepreneurship? Yes.

This was a really interesting read that covers a wide range of topics from the origins of coffee, to design spaces, your products, appeasing the customers, building a name for yourself, and much more.

I loved the added illustrations throughout and I think this book will appeal to many individuals!

[Kelly Pramberger]

I love coffee. My Insta handle is @coffeeuntil. I immediately wanted to read this book when I saw the title. What a fascinating read. The author included a lot about the history of coffee, the spots in which people would gather to have a cup, and more. I liked that this info was included in addition to the steps about getting a coffee shop up and running in a short amount of time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and a great asset for anyone considering opening a coffee shop.
It's not written above peoples heads and I liked how it mentioned the coffee culture of Australia.
It's useful in the planning stages and will be something I;ll refer back to when I make the decision to take the leap.
I received a copy via NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for anyone who loves coffee, and/or has ever wondered what it would be like to open their own coffee shop!

Thank you Netgalley and Ad Lib Publishers, Palazzo Editions for the ARC!

[Rogan Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m hoping to eventually open a coffee shop of my own, so this was VERY helpful. It’s full of useful information and tips, what is necessary and what is a bonus but not required, things to consider, and so much more. I will definitely be referencing this book for some time to come.