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[valley_parade]

A local radio station has a show called "The Acoustic Storm" every Sunday morning. I always call in and request "Heartless Bastard Motherfucker" but they never play it.

[thermodynamics]

the Starbucks in Murfreesboro has had Peter Bjorn and John playing nonstop for the past 2 months.

blow my fucking brains out.

[KharBevNor]

...you go to Starbucks?

[Tokuma]

Starbucks is exactly the opposite of what we want to be. They may be rich and everywhere, but their coffee is shit. Actually, most of their drinks are either really bad or geared toward people who drink coffee not because they like it but because its "hip".

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming.

I started emailing some record labels and have not gotten a reply from any of them as of yet. I honestly was not expecting to heard from them via email anyway. I am sure they get quite a few emails and only read a few. looks like I will be making lots of phone calls in the next few weeks. I also worked it out that, if all goes as planned, QC Forum members in the area who come to our shop will either receive a free menu item or 10% off. Not quite sure which one, it all depends on how much our startup costs will be.

[Subbuteo]

Tokuma -

I wish you the best, but I hope you've done your homework.
I don't know if you know this, but there was a coffee shop directly across the street from your location.
It closed about 2 years ago.  It's not a great location.  There's not enough traffic nor is it a destination.
It's going to be very difficult to draw people into that area.  On top of that, you have East Main pulling people the opposite direction.
There's a St. Louis Bread Company there and a Starbucks on its way - both of which will be your competition.

Your customers will come from West Belleville heading into downtown and from Hwy 15.  No one is going to come from Fairview into Belleville when you have so many more options out there.  Many people from the WestEnd stop at the Abbey to get coffee on the way in, so that hurts.  There is a very good (quality-wise, not much atmosphere) coffee shop on Lebannon Ave.
Also, people coming from Hwy 15 pass by QuikTrip, which sadly, is competition also. (Some people don't understand quality).

You have to make your store a destination in and of itself for you to be successful.  Music may be the way to do that.  The one thing about music as your hook that you have to be carefull with is that there is a fine line between a place 20-somethings think is cool and will hangout dispite 40-somethings also enjoying it and a place that 40-somethings don't go to because they think it over-caters to the 20-somethings.  It's very difficult to maintain a broad draw.

One of the more successful coffee shops has been Sacred Grounds in Edwardsville.  But they have a great location.  But you might want to check them out.

I really do wish you the best of luck.  I'd really like to see Belleville turn itself around, but I don't see that happening.

Cheers to your success.

[casull]

Where in Belleville are you opening this? I live in Edwardsville, so I'm not to far away. What's your place gonna be called?

I will be in Edwardsville around christmas, all my relatives are down there. Coffeehouse expedition?

PS Sacred Grounds <3

[Jackie Blue]

Here's a funny story.  When I was in San Francisco a couple months ago, I went into a tiny little coffee shop right off Haight.  The music that was playing was very enjoyable and familiar to me; I instantly recognized it.

There were two baristas working, both "hip/artsy" looking girls around 18-19.

Barista A: This music is cool, what is it?
Barista B: Like omigod, it's the new Arcade Fire!
Barista A: Wow, really?

Just goes to show, even in the big city people can be pretty clueless.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Is it that the music wasn't the Arcade Fire? Or that Barista A is an idiot for not recognizing it instantly? Honestly I wouldn't know Arcade Fire if the band were to set my apartment on fire and then play a 40 minute set as I burned to death trying to save my beloved possessions (I love material things).

[a pack of wolves]

I don't get it either. Arcade Fire are pretty dull and even if they weren't not recognising them hardly makes somebody clueless.

[KharBevNor]

I think his point is that those girls had not had the secret hipster initiation, and thus were unworthy to serve him coffee. Did you subtly check for the scars of the whip upon their back, and the dark mark of Steve Albini upon their wrists?

Did you try the secret handshake?

[Jackie Blue]

My point is that they screamed "indie rock fan" from every pore of their being and live in one of the most culturally-aware cities in the world and yet had somehow never heard an album that had come out 8 months previous.

I'm not saying they were dumb for not having heard it or that everyone should like the album, it just struck me as humorous that in the heart of Hip Country here were two people who hadn't heard something that isn't even remotely obscure.

[KharBevNor]

Dude, I go to art college, I wouldn't know Arcade Fire from Adam. I am still not getting your fucking point.

[KharBevNor]

And then...I tell him?

[Jackie Blue]

Imagine a guy dressed in all black, pale, a little beard, long hair, spikes all over - a guy that screams "METAL MOTHERFUCKER".

Then you put on a metal record and he goes "Hey, this shit is pretty neat! What's it called?"

Thank you.

Or, imagine a girl in a Bauhaus T-shirt and a pound of black eyeliner hearing a Joy Division album and saying "Is this the new Interpol?"

[thehollow]

Man, if someone were to open a shop around here implementing the ideas thrown about in this thread I'd be their best customer. This really makes me wish there were better coffee places around here. We have like one coffee shop that's not a Starbucks, and it's nowhere near where I live. And coming originally from the thriving hipster community that is Madison it makes me really miss good quality coffee/coffeeshops.

I think the idea of letting the customer choose the music is the most important. Just make sure everything on the playlist is something you can tolerate, because otherwise you'll end up hating the customer who keeps playing that one shitty song every time he comes in. There's a great restaurant in Madison that has a massive vinyl collection on shelves right near the cash register and any customer is able to put on whatever they want from their collection. It's a really cool system, and it's pretty much all good music. Not realistic for most places I'd imagine due to the vinyl investment, however.

[KharBevNor]

Then you think it's slightly odd his entire image revolves around a kind of music he's never heard of before.

And you tell him, of course.

So, what, hang on, you're implying that this guy doesn't know the entire genre of metal?

So, let me get this right, dressing in a 'hipster' fashion and not being able to recognise the latest Arcade Fire record is exactly the same as looking like Glenn Danzig and not knowing that an Iron Maiden song is even metal? This is the lazy, ridiculous comparison you are trying to make?

Because Arcade Fire are the exact epitome of everything that is 'indie' and it is not possible even never to have got around to hearing them? Jesus man, if I made generalisations this flaccid people would rip into me, and damn right too.

Glenn is not amused.



GRRRR.

[Hat]

Sometimes I think you people live in a different world. The idea of having a band, or any kind of CD playing in a coffee shop that isn't soft jazz is so unbelievably foreign to me.

To me, it just sounds like you're trying to start a bar but replacing the word "liquor" with coffee at any possible opportunity.

The last time I actually stuck around in a coffee shop to drink coffee I overheard someone use the word "Synergy" over the weak-water muzak playing and had to split.

[casull]

When do you plan to be open? I'll be around down there every so often, I would stop by.

[Jackie Blue]

Because Arcade Fire are the exact epitome of everything that is 'indie' and it is not possible even never to have got around to hearing them?

I think you're reading way too much into it.

I just thought it was an amusing story that illustrates that just because you're Hippe McHipTits working at IHIP in the middle of Hipopolis you can still be out of the loop.

[a pack of wolves]

Not recognising Arcade Fire doesn't make you out of the loop. It just means you have trouble remembering boring things. I probably dress like someone who likes indie and I live in a city which is something of a hotspot for that kind of thing but I wouldn't be able to spot an Arcade Fire album if you played it to me. I've heard them before but christ, that shit was far too dull to go around remembering its exact qualities. Maybe this girl had way much taste and was far too busy listening to Blind Lemon Jefferson to bother with the Arcade Fire's latest bit of drab nonsense before then.

[Darkbluerabbit]

This thread got resurrected, so I don't know if the OP is even looking for advice anymore, but I just survived another round of finals, and have a suggestion/complaint about the coffee shop I frequent.

I like to write papers in my local coffee shop.  I feel more compelled to work since I made the effort to get there, and it has little booths that make great "study nooks."  The music they play is usually really conducive to study too.  Good, but easy to ignore when you're working. 

Unfortunately Holiday season coincides with fall semester finals, so "festive" music is added to the rotation.  Low-key or instrumental holiday stuff is fine, but there's also the brassier, harder to zone out tunes, particularly a Dr. Suess compilation that somehow gets played every time I've tried to write a paper there.  Who's down in Whoville chirping away do not help me concentrate on study.  If I was there socializing, it would be just fine, but based on the number of laptops and textbooks I saw around, lots of people were there to study.  Obviously, they have customers that are not students, and I'm not suggesting that they should cater exclusively to college kids.  I just think that it'd be nice to hold off on the fun, peppy holiday stuff until finals are over, and everyone is ready to celebrate.  No one's going to be hurt if the music is a little mellow for a week or so.

So that is my suggestion, if you are in a college town and within a mile or two of campus.  You can get a lot of business during midterms and finals, if it's a good study environment.  People are there for hours typing away, and they'll usually order multiple drinks to compensate for sleep deprivation.  Observing high stress times for students and making your shop the best place to work could score you some very loyal customers. 


P.S.  Neon Bible has topped a few "best of" lists this year.  Whether the praise is justified or not, I can understand why you'd think someone "hip" would at least recognize the album.  I am not equating "hip" with "good."  It has to do with the "hip" culture, which seems to think Arcade Fire is all kinds of phenomenal. 

[Leinad]

Tommy, as far as I can tell, anything rad that came out of the 80's happened to some other country, because now people say rad. Fuck Rad, and whoever came up with that word.

[Jimmy the Squid]

Man, if someone were to open a shop around here implementing the ideas thrown about in this thread I'd be their best customer. This really makes me wish there were better coffee places around here. We have like one coffee shop that's not a Starbucks, and it's nowhere near where I live. And coming originally from the thriving hipster community that is Madison it makes me really miss good quality coffee/coffeeshops.

I think the idea of letting the customer choose the music is the most important. Just make sure everything on the playlist is something you can tolerate, because otherwise you'll end up hating the customer who keeps playing that one shitty song every time he comes in. There's a great restaurant in Madison that has a massive vinyl collection on shelves right near the cash register and any customer is able to put on whatever they want from their collection. It's a really cool system, and it's pretty much all good music. Not realistic for most places I'd imagine due to the vinyl investment, however.

There used to be a Taco/burriito/assorted mexican foodserving emporium up the road from me. They were open until really odd hours like 3:42am and 5:13am on weekends and shit. They had swearing on the menu and on the promotion signs in the windows. They also had an iMac with a 19" monitor on the counter so you could go on the net and choose songs on the iTunes while you wait for your food. I would invariably choose NIN and Ministry. yes yes.

[Kai]

Danzig is a pretty big fan of twee.

TRUE FACT.

[Jackie Blue]

Danzig owns a black house, a black Porsche, and spray paints his grass black.

Actually seriously true fact.[/i]

[SonofZ3]

We had a coffee shop in my hometown that was pretty cool, my friends and I would drink espresso and play chess there. Now its become one of those places where people who think they're writers hang out with moleskine notebooks looking very deep and contemplating things. Kinda ruined it for me.

[Darkbluerabbit]

Don't look at me like the 80s never happened.

Thank you, Tommy.  I appreciate a compliment from any decade.  Besides, the lingo of the 80s is no where near as awful as the lingo of the 90s.

[thehollow]

whatever, 90's slang was da bomb

[yossarian07]

Try to consider at least putting a small stage in there. I'm from St Louis and we need indie venues that dont suck as much as The Kreepy Krawl and the Gargoyle. I'd be willing do drive across the river if your place is better than those two places, which isnt saying much.