We now come to some of the most important issues to consider when setting up a new sandwich-coffee bar: the actual products you and your staff will sell to the public. This is what it’s all about. And things have moved on rather a lot since the Earl of Sandwich put some cheese between a couple of slices of bread so that he could stay at the gaming table without having to waste time going for lunch.

It’s easy to get carried away by the interesting – even glamourous – aspects of giving your new business a sexy image. These are important and people will see part of the ‘brand value’ of your place as being the general feelgood factor of the surroundings and the ambience of the place. However, you will only build up a strong customer base if the products you sell are of a consistently good standard and priced at a level people regard as giving them value for money.

Creating Your Sandwich List

In Chapter One I talked about the kind of initial research you should carry out. Part of this involved visiting and trying out as many comparable businesses as possible. While doing this, try to get hold of lots of menus or sandwich lists to pore over at home. You should then gradually compile your initial list from the following:

• particular sandwiches that during your research you found especially appealing
• other people’s menus or lists
• the Internet – quite a lot of sandwich bars have web sites, including a lot in America
• your own ideas – however off the wall at this stage
• ideas taken from magazines, including the trade magazine Sandwich and Snack News which regularly publishes recipes dreamt up by finalists in best sandwich competitions
• recipe books – you will see a few specific sandwich ideas in general recipe books plus countless other concoctions not intended as sandwich ingredients which might just give you the basis for an unusual sandwich. A lot of people nowadays are looking for new ideas to stimulate their jaded palates and this kind of lateral thinking could give you a competitive edge.

New Ideas And Old Favourites

Clearly you have to be aware of people’s tastes in your neighbourhood; but wherever that may be, it’s important to strike a balance between well-known favourites (however dull they may seem) and more exotic creations.

If you don’t have cheese, egg mayonnaise and tuna mayonnaise on your menu you will undoubtedly lose customers. You could, of course, introduce some variety by having one plain tuna mayonnaise and another with red and orange peppers or red onions added to the mix.

You should also ensure that you have some more interesting and unusual items on offer. I’ve come across emu and ostrich sandwiches; really the possibilities are unlimited. It’s all about offering a large and interesting choice. Your business will probably rely heavily on regulars and your selection should allow them to be a bit daring now and then.

Festivals and seasonal changes can provide reasons for advertising the introduction of new ideas. For instance, every December we do a Christmas sandwich with turkey and stuffing. It always sells well.

Introducing new ideas in this way doesn’t necessarily increase the number of customers you have. The main thing is that it will help to maintain the interest and loyalty of the ones you’ve already got.

Responding To Unexpected Events

Made To Order Or Made In Advance?

By this stage you should have observed a considerable number of sandwich-coffee bars in action. You should therefore be forming a view about whether your sandwiches will be made to order or made in advance.

I suggest you also put yourself in the place of the customer and ask yourself the question: which would I prefer?

Made to order means exactly what it says. You don’t start making the sandwich until the customer has explained what they want. A lot of customers prefer this. Not only can they get exactly what they want, they can watch the sandwich being made before their very eyes and satisfy themselves that it’s all being done properly.