Are you a morning person who enjoys baking and entrepreneurship? If so, few ventures can provide as much satisfaction as starting a bagel shop. However, the setup process involves a lot more than simply announcing you’re open for business. As with all startups, research and planning are essential.
Here’s a breakdown of key considerations when opening a bagel shop. Read to the end for some inspiring real-world examples.
Opening a bagel business in a high-traffic area is one of the most effective ways to capture and grow demand. It’s specifically foot traffic you want–especially during morning commutes. Starting a bagel shop off a busy highway can also be worthwhile if you are easily accessible and have good parking around your storefront. This is especially true if you’re planning to include curbside pickup.
READ: How to find a good location for your business
Decide how you want to make your bagels–will you prepare everything from scratch in-house, or buy the dough from a supplier?
Make sure all your paperwork is in order. This multi-step process includes:
To make your first sale, you need a way to accept card and cash payments from customers. Although a traditional cash register might work, using a point-of-sale (POS) system offers several important benefits:
These benefits are amplified if you choose payment technology that is specifically designed for the food service industry. At Clover, for example, our POS systems all come with contactless payment technology and portable payment processing allowing customers to pay at the table or from their car.
Before you can start making sales, you need to promote your new venture with marketing campaigns and social media engagement. Our restaurant POS systems can help with this stage, as well, by allowing you to launch discounts and create loyalty programs from one convenient dashboard.
Now that you have an idea about how to start a bagel shop, you’re probably wondering how much the startup process costs?
Depending on the size, location, and “readiness” of the spot you choose, expect to spend anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Buying pre-made bagels can help reduce your expenses. You can also keep costs low by leasing equipment instead of purchasing everything you need outright. Another good strategy involves only bringing on employees when you’re no longer able to keep up personally with the current demand and workload.
In April of 2020, JP Figaro took over Hole in One Bagels with a vision of bringing a nostalgic New York City deli experience to Bonita Springs, Florida. Now, Figaro has made that vision a reality. His team bakes fresh kettle-boiled bagels every day, and he imports all their Italian rolls and bread from New York. In addition, Figaro stocks Italian products like jars of tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, De Cecco pasta, and various olive oils.
His vision proved successful–quite a feat considering that he opened Hole in One Bagels at the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, it was so successful that he opened a second store later that same year.
As a previous Clover sales representative, Figaro had a leg up on equipment. He chose to go with two Station Pros and two Minis. The Minis were particularly useful during social distancing since the employees didn’t have to touch the customer’s card.
“We found our customers ecstatic with not having to hand their card over anymore and to just follow through on the instructions themselves,” Figaro says.
He also kept wipes next to the Clover Mini to disinfect the screen between customers.
Bagels and Brew in Fairbanks, Alaska, and The Bagel Meister in Douglasville, Georgia, as featured in our Meet the Merchant series, offer two more real-world success stories.
If you’re starting a bagel business, we can’t necessarily help with ingredient selection or choosing the right location. However, we can help when it comes to PCI-compliant payment solutions designed to help boost sales, save time, and reduce fraud. To start, browse our complete line of POS systems so you can find the right solution for your payment needs.
Or, speak with a Clover Business Consultant today to learn more.
TALK TO AN EXPERTThe content provided in this blog post is for informational purposes only. Nothing contained herein should be construed as legal, financial, or tax advice.
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