It was June of last year when I received a call from Michael Kastner, a successful business in the orthodox Jewish community of Teaneck, New Jersey. Michael owns and operates a popular kosher supermarket, Glatt Express, which features an array of kosher-certified food products, as well as an in-house kosher butcher shop. He told me that his present business was thriving, but he wanted to do more, and he was looking for a new challenge. He saw an opportunity to capitalize on the need for a gathering place in his community, and the idea of a coffee business interested him.

Michael told me that he wanted to give something back to the community that had so loyally supported his business. He said that to his supermarket customers, shopping meant more then merely stocking their cupboards-it was also a time to catch up with friends and neighbors. He believed that a comfortable, kosher-certified coffee bar would offer his community a place to meet, socialize and relax, while enjoying a gourmet coffee and a bite to eat. The question was whether or not his neighborhood would embrace the idea.

Hoping to open his coffee bar in a timely fashion and already busy with an existing business, Michael solicited the help of professionals. Bellissimo, a consulting company based in Eugene, OR would be part of the team responsible for helping Michael turn his dream into a reality. Bellissimo's task was not only to help Michael develop a viable concept and menu selections, but to also scrutinize the proposed store design, source kosher-certified food and beverage products, recommend and shop for equipment, train employees, and assist with the store opening.   

Michael had given me free rein over the menu creation. Because his café would be a neighborhood-gathering place, I felt that his menu should appeal to all ages and tastes. Of course, great coffee and espresso beverages, along with tea, hot chocolate, and Italian soda, would be the core of the menu selections. But I enhanced this core menu with an extensive selection of creative hot and cold signature drinks, such as Caffe Crème Caramels, blended Heath Bar mochas, and frozen caramel lattes.

In addition to coffee-based beverages, we offered fruit smoothies and milkshakes. We knew that these selections would be popular in the afternoons and evenings, but we were surprised that we were selling a dozen or more every day before lunch.

Another popular option was our kids' menu. We featured about a dozen items for kids under the age of 10. All drinks were eight ounces, and each sold for one dollar. Strawberry-banana smoothies, peanut butter and jelly milkshakes, blueberry steamers, and hot chocolate s'mores were all huge hits.

In addition to our drink menu items, we also decided to offer panini sandwiches. Since this café is kosher-certified, we needed to choose delicious, gourmet meat alternatives. From Nova salmon with cream cheese and capers to fresh milk mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil, our panini was an instant success. We were selling approximately 50 sandwiches a day at $6 each. Another unique menu item we added to Michael's menu was ice cream panini. While Michael and I were visiting a local coffee roaster/equipment distributor, we stumbled upon an interesting piece of equipment. It looked like a single panini grill, but instead of incorporating the standard grill plates, it was equipped with two smooth Teflon-coated plates, each containing a half-sphere indentation.
   
A local baker supplied us with baseball-sized brioche (a sweet flaky pastry), which we cut in half, filled with a scoop of ice cream and squeezed back together around the ice cream ball. Then we placed the ice-cream-filled brioche into the indentation of the grill, shut the lid, and within seven to 10 seconds, the grill heated the pastry and sealed it around the ice cream. We smothered it with warm chocolate sauce, caramel or fruit preserves and topped it with whipped cream, chopped nuts, shaved chocolate, or sprinkles (depending upon the selection ordered). This delicious item provided Michael with an irreplaceable product that his competition could not readily produce.

So what was the result of these efforts? Examining the source of sales, we were a bit surprised. When we checked the cash register tapes at the end of the fourth day, only $500 had come from brewed coffee and hot espresso beverage sales. The remaining $1,000 had come from blended espresso drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, and panini. I explained to Michael how important these extra sales were. I told him that at $500 a day (or $15,000 a month), he would be lucky to break even, and that he would more likely lose $2,000 to $4,000 a month. But at $1,500 a day (or $45,000 a month), he could realize a profit of 10 to 20 percent, or $4,500 to $9,000 per month.

Michael was obviously pleased with the launch of his new business. After a year of careful planning and execution, the Lazy Bean Café was a rousing success. Michael's assumption that the local orthodox community would embrace his café was right on target. Do it right and they will come.