How to Find the Perfect Location for Your Café& Why Location Is 50% of Your Future Profit

According to statistics, about 60% of new restaurants in Ukraine fail precisely because of their poor location. Not because of bad coffee, tasteless desserts, or even sleep-deprived baristas. But because of an incorrectly chosen spot on the map.

The right location will work for you 24/7, serving as the best advertisement and constantly bringing in new guests. In this article, we will lay everything out for you step by step.

Step 1: Who is your guest and where do they live?

The first and most important rule for choosing a location is: don’t look for a place, look for your people. Forget about “space for rent” ads for a minute. Your hunt doesn’t start with looking at empty storefronts, but with a deep understanding of who you’re actually opening for.

To understand who your guest is, you need to understand two concepts: demographics and psychographics.

Demographics are your customer’s “passport.” These are dry but very important facts about them: age, gender, income level, profession, marital status, and area of residence. Who are these people?

Psychographics is your customer’s “soul.” It answers the questions “Why?” and “What for?” These are their values, lifestyle, habits, and motivation.

The concept of “Nasoloda” with its wide range of cakes, pastries, cheesecakes, and handmade desserts is ideal for several groups at once. It is the perfect place for family celebrations, friendly get-togethers, romantic dates, and for anyone who wants to treat themselves to a high-quality and natural delicacy.

Step 2: The three pillars of a successful location: traffic, visibility, and accessibility

So, you know who you are hunting for. Now it’s time to figure out where your “prey” is. Any successful location rests on three pillars: traffic, visibility, and accessibility. Ignoring even one of them is a direct path to financial disaster. Let’s take a look at each of them separately.

Pedestrian traffic is not just a flow of people, but a flow of money

Pedestrian traffic is the lifeblood of your business. The more people pass by your cafe, the higher the chances that someone will come in. But this is a game of percentages. Even in the busiest place, you will only be able to “catch” a tiny fraction of the flow, perhaps 0.2% – 0.5%. Therefore, it is important to look not only at the quantity but also at the quality of this traffic.

Visibility — if you are not seen, you do not exist

There is a saying: “Out of sight, out of mind.” In the restaurant business, it sounds even harsher: “Out of sight, out of business.” Your cafe should shout about its existence. A noticeable, bright location is your best and, in fact, free advertising. What is “visibility” in practice?

• A clear sign.
• An open facade.
• An understandable entrance.
• Corner premises.

Accessibility — make it easy to get to you

Even if you are visible from a kilometer away and crowds are walking past you, it is all useless if it is physically difficult to get to you. Accessibility is about removing any obstacles on the customer’s way to your cash register.

There are no ideal locations that score 10 out of 10 on all three criteria. A location near the subway may have heavy traffic but zero accessibility for cars. A location on the highway may be highly visible but inconvenient to drive to. Your task as a strategist is to find not just a good location, but a balanced one where all three “pillars” work in unison for your target audience.

Step 3: Analyze your competitors and look for friends

No café exists in a vacuum. It is always part of a larger ecosystem — a neighborhood, a street, a shopping center. And your success directly depends on who your neighbors are. Surrounding businesses can be either your fiercest enemies or your best friends, bringing you customers for free.

Competition is not scary, it is useful. It keeps you on your toes and helps you become better. But to do this, you need to know your opponent face to face. There are two types of competitors:

• Direct. These are other coffee shops, pastry shops, and ice cream parlors. They offer a similar product to the same audience.
• Indirect. These are any places where you can grab a bite to eat or drink coffee: a supermarket with a coffee machine, a smoothie bar, a hot dog stand, or a fast food restaurant.

Slow service at a competitor? This is your opportunity to offer “coffee in 3 minutes or free.” Limited selection of desserts? This is your chance to impress with your “Delights” assortment. The goal of this analysis is not to copy someone else, but to find a vacant spot in the market, an unmet need that you can fill.

Step 4: Checklist for choosing a location

You have found the area where your audience lives, assessed the traffic, and analyzed the neighbors. It seems that you have found the perfect place. Don’t rush! Now it’s time to take off your rose-colored glasses and look “under the hood” of the premises themselves.

The size and layout of the premises must be 100% in line with your concept. There is no point in renting 150 square meters if you are planning a tiny “coffee to go” spot. Conversely, it is impossible to create a cozy café with 50 seats in a 20 m² space.

You also need space for refrigerators and freezers. And be sure to have a separate area for trash cans and their disposal. Cramped kitchens and utility rooms are a guarantee of slow work, mistakes, and dissatisfied staff.

The Nasoloda franchise is your reliable navigator in the sea of real estate

Have you read all of the above? Sounds a little scary, doesn’t it? Demographic analysis, traffic counting, spying on competitors, checking ventilation ducts, legal battles with landlords… The list of tasks seems endless, and the price of a mistake is too high.

When you consider opening a Nasoloda, you get more than just a well-known brand and recipes for delicious cakes. You get access to invaluable experience and resources that significantly reduce your risks.

Ready to take the first step toward your own profitable café? Learn more about the Nasoloda franchise opportunities on our website. Our team of experts will help you find that sweet spot on the map of your city that will be the beginning of your great success story.