Lorena runs Bristol Coffee in Viladecans, a specialty café that generated 138,000 euros in a year. However, the net profit barely reaches 8-9%, far from the millionaire business idea that many imagine.
Lorena, owner of Bristol Coffee in Viladecans, has put numbers to the reality of her business. In the last year, the café generated 138,000 euros, but the net profit she manages to retain barely exceeds 8-9%. “People told me: ‘You’ll get rich with coffee’. And that’s not the case,” she asserts.
The establishment, specialised in specialty coffee, opened its doors in Viladecans with the idea of offering a quality product, with careful roasting and no additives. Lorena trained as a barista after living in Bristol (England), where she discovered the concept of coffee roasters. “I thought: ‘At some point, I will open my own café and it will be in my town because in Viladecans we were the first to use specialty coffee’,” she recalls.
To cover expenses, she needs to sell about 470 euros daily. “From 470 euros is when the profit really starts,” she explains. That threshold, combined with the costs of staff, rent, and raw materials, leaves a very tight margin. She makes most of the pastries herself: cookies, cakes, and homemade tarts. Only the croissants are purchased externally.
The main headache, according to Lorena, is finding and maintaining a stable team. “At night, I check my phone twenty times in case someone has fallen ill for the next day,” she confesses. The selection processes are complicated and often barely anyone shows up. Despite everything, she does not regret it: her day starts at seven in the morning, and she assures that the bond with the craft and with her customers in Viladecans makes the effort worthwhile.
Bristol Coffee has become a local reference for specialty coffee lovers, but Lorena wants to debunk the myth that opening a café is synonymous with big profits. “The numbers are what they are,” she concludes.
You may also like
