The Café Owner’s Manual

The queue at eight-fifteen pays for the empty room at three.

A café earns most of its money in a few short bursts and spends the rest of the day waiting. That shape decides everything: how you staff, what you prep, what you throw away, and whether the month works.

This manual writes the counter down. Opening, prep, the rush, the quiet, waste, ordering, pricing and the weekly look at the numbers are each set out as a procedure somebody else can run.

It has no opinion on your coffee. It assumes you have that covered and no time left for the rest.

Inside, you will learn how to

• Prep to the rush you actually get, not the one you remember
• Cut waste without running out at eleven
• Price a drink from what the cup really costs
• Make the dead hours earn something
• Turn a regular into a regular who brings someone
• Read the four numbers that tell you how the week went