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COFFEE CUSTOMERS
Updated equipment, a sizeable counter area and multiple brew flavors
can help position your chain as a coffee destination.
By Erin Rigii<, Associate Editor
CSDecisionso
FOODSERVICE
run geographical blends from parts of
the world, which is becoming pretty
popular. We have offered a Brazilian,
Come n & try any size cup of
our crazy good coffee for FREE
a Costa Rican and a Kenyan blend, to
no coupon necessary!
name a few," Weber said. "Our cofOffer valid
Sunday 12/16-Saturday 12/22
fee partner. Royal Cup, sources those
and lets us know when a blend is
available, so we work closely with
them to keep our coffee offering excit- Savvy chains know sampling coffee is a
great way to pique customer interest and
ing for customers."
While new brews and a condiment bar of flavors are crucial for
making your coffee bar a destination,
nothing compares to the importance
of a fresh cup of coffee. Equipment can
make all the difference in the quality
of your offering and whefher customers return.
Spinx sources all its equipment
through its coffee partnership with
Royal Cup, saving it the hassle of managing its own equipment. "The benefit
of that is that we are constantly using
upgraded equipment," Weber said. "In
other chains that buy and manage their
own equipment, you go into their stores
and you might see outdated equipment
that looks old, and that impacts the presentation of the coffee area."
Spinx switched from glass pots to
thermal dispensing units about two
years ago. "I loved the glass pot program because you could tell right away
that the coffee was fresh just by the
smell. But the response we've received
from the thermal dispensers has been
extremely positive," Weber said. "It
has also helped the stores because the
thermal dispensers have timers on
them to ensure the coffee always stays
fresh. It really brought us up to date
and the customers love it."
At its largest stores, Spinx features eight different brewstypically
two dispensers of each coffee varietywhile its smaller stores typically
feature six dispensers in the morning
and cut down to the house blend and
dark roast in the off-peak afternoon
hours.
Its coffee bars make it clear to customers Spinx is a destination for coffee
with a 4-6-foot linear counter that
provides plenty of space for multiple customers to service their coffee
cups simultaneously. "Our cusfomers
appreciate it," he said. CSD
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