It’s what a former American president called the ‘vision thing’. You must have a good idea in your mind of what your sandwich-coffee bar is going to be like – what a customer walking into the place in a few months’ time will experience. Of course you can’t possibly know every last detail in advance. You will inevitably make changes and additions as you go along – before and after opening – but it’s important to have your own identity.

This will serve to mark you out in the eyes of customers.‘Oh yes that’s the place that does really good chicken sandwiches – classy’ or ‘I love the decor in that new place, really nice colours – the owners have obviously got good taste’, or ‘Curried parsnip and apple soup! They’re welcome to it. It’s not my cup of tea. ’Your identity will also give you a reference point which will help to guide you as you make decisions on a whole range of issues before you open. If you’re not sure about something your identity will help to answer the question: ‘Is that the sort of thing a place like ours would/should/could do?’ In this Chapter 1 will discuss many of the elements which, taken together, go to make up the particular identity and character of a venture. The list is not exhaustive.

Choosing A Name

Let’s face it, people are not going to buy a sandwich from your establishment just because it’s got a really impressive name. It’s the quality of the sandwich which makes a name memorable not the other way round. If my school rock group had been called Led Zeppelin it still wouldn’t have secured a recording contract!

A name is still important, though. There are a number of points to bear in mind.

Your aim is to quickly become an established part of customers’ daily lives and awareness. This is easier to achieve if your name is straightforward.

Your name will be used many times every day by a variety of suppliers, tradespeople and officials. It’s very tedious if, repeatedly and routinely, you have to clarify the details or spelling of your trading name.

Another name we thought of was ‘La Baguette’. Not bad. However, as we thought about it more, it dawned on us that we would be selling a variety of breads, not just baguettes. Not only that, but for all we knew baguettes would go out of fashion in years to come; or perhaps we might decide to become purely a coffee shop. We might find ourselves having to change our name after years of trading – a waste of time and money – and confusing for customers.

Long before you sell your first sandwich there are people and organisations which will ask you for your trading name. The information is necessary when setting up accounts with suppliers and other business contacts.

Making some kind of a neat joke out of your name is short-sighted. Jokes are only funny for a very short time. After that they are tedious or downright naff.

Equally, do you really want to be just another ‘Coffee Pot’ or ‘Dave’s Sandwich Bar’? Names like this are hardly going to help you stand out from what is a crowded field. In our own case ‘Millers’ became the clear favourite. I think it was a good choice; apart from anything else it happens to be a good ‘bready’ name for a sandwich bar. The worst that happens is that people spell it with an ‘a’ instead of an ‘e’ – a mild irritation but nothing more.

Having said all this, one of the most successful sandwich-coffee bar chains of recent times has been ‘Pret a Manger.’ However, in much of their advertising they now appear to have dropped the ‘A Manger’ – presumably in the interests of simplicity.

Obviously there is a balance to be struck. There may be local, geographical or personal considerations which will influence you in favour of a particular name in your own case.