What Nobody Tells You Before Opening a Coffee Shop

Opening Day Isn't the Finish Line!

There’s a lot of excitement that comes with opening a coffee shop. All of the months you’ve spent planning, building a team, designing the perfect space and counting down the days to flip that sign to open.

Then opening day arrives. It’s exciting and busy and all of the hard work is starting to take fruition. 

But here is something we’ve learned at Grit and Grind Coffee: opening day isn’t the finish line. It’s really just the starting line.

The First 30 Days: Learning Your Business

The first month is about learning your business in real time. This includes learning your customers, your team, your busiest hours, your community and even yourself as an owner. Once customers start walking through the doors, procedures that looked great on paper may need to be adjusted. 

Pay attention, listen to your team, ask questions and don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way. It’s all part of the learning process. 

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Days 30-60: Find Your Rhythm

Once the initial opening excitement settles, everyday operations start becoming clearer. What is working well? Where is your team struggling? What are customers loving? Where could you become more efficient?

This season is more about building consistency than getting everything perfect. Having a good, strong team that understands the vision of the shop makes a huge difference. Implementing good systems and strong communication is crucial to success. 

Days 60-90: Look Forward

By this point you have learned a lot and now it's time to start thinking beyond tomorrow’s shift. 

How can you better serve the community around you? What opportunities are in front of you? Where can your team grow and what habits need to become a part of the way you operate long-term? Showing up for not just your team but your community as well. 

The goal isn’t to have everything figured out by day 90 but to grow an even stronger foundation than you had on day one. 

You Don’t Have to Figure It Out Alone

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned in growing Grit and Grind is that opening a coffee shop takes more than getting the doors open. It takes support after opening day, too. That’s why our relationship with Grit and Grind franchise owners doesn’t end at their grand opening. We continue walking alongside them through those important first 30, 60, and 90 days as they build their team, learn their business, and find a rhythm within their community. 

If you’re still in the dreaming stage of opening a coffee shop, remember this: Don’t just plan for opening day, build something you are prepared to keep growing from day one to every day after. 

Interested in what it looks like to open a coffee shop with a team and an established system behind you? 

Explore franchising with Grit and Grind Coffee.