The True Cost of Launching a Coffee Shop

You’ve daydreamed about it. You can practically taste it. The freedom of being your own boss. The pride of launching a thriving coffee shop business. The satisfaction of running your own franchise business.

But before you take the plunge, consider one of the most important factors in whether your franchise coffee shop will succeed. No, we don’t mean whether you serve the best lattes or whether you’ve already picked the perfect store location. It’s how much of yourself you are willing to put into your new business venture.

While launching your franchise coffee shop is not inherently risky, there are elements you will need to invest in. Namely: your time, your acumen, and chiefly, seed money to start.

So, how much would it cost to open a coffee shop franchise location? Read our guide below to find out.

Seed Money

Whenever you launch a business, there is an inherent up-front cost associated. This is as true in launching a meager one-person LLC as it is in joining a franchise network.

So how much does it cost to open a coffee shop? Toast, which operates a nationwide network of point-of-sale payment solutions, estimates that cost. Their breakdown offers an average cost to open a coffee shop location with seating between $80,000 and $300,000.

Obviously, that’s a wide range, but several factors will determine the overall cost. Chiefly:

• The real estate location in which your coffee shop resides,
• Licenses and permits,
• The size and style of your coffee shop,
• Availability of premium elements like drive-thru ordering,
• Whether renovation or kitchen equipment & supplies are needed,
• And more.

There are countless factors that will determine how much is required to start up your business. But the answer to the question of cost to open a coffee shop really comes down to the bells and whistles.

Franchise Fee

The start up costs above do not reflect a total investment cost to open a coffee shop for franchising. Franchised locations require a franchise fee on top of the initial investment, which sits at $25,000 for Ellianos.

The Cost of Time

All of that is to say nothing of the cost of time. Any business owner will tell you that an investment of time is also needed.

This is your business, after all. So every little detail down to the placement of the sweetener station is up to you. But many of the most successful business owners will tell you those initial investments pay dividends in the long run.

Return on Investment

There’s no secret in franchising. A lot of money can be made if the right investments and decisions are made up front. Ellianos franchises see an average net operating revenue of $237,085, for instance.

The Ellianos coffee family is a network of franchisee-owned coffee shops throughout the southeastern United States. Our franchisees love being a part of the family as much as our customers love our coffee. Find an Ellianos Near You.