Welcome

Welcoming cafe window in Bermondsey - Bicycles welcome, Pet Friendly.

Blenheim Local

Searcys are to be congratulated for their local sourcing at Blenheim Palace - no central purchasing diktat here.  Oxford Sauce, Cotswold Gold rapeseed oil,

Samuelsons of Witney sparkling Blackberry, Virgin Mojita, Super Strong Lemonade,

Manor Farm herbs,

backed up by story boards.

Passion on a Poster

Cafe in the Park have two locations - Marlow and Rickmansworth - and have great story posters 

Our Changing Values

I have now finished 'Spend Shift' - great book about how we haven't been forced to sort out our values.  Until now.


So many of the examples in the book talk about cafes and food being the engine of regeneration in some tough places.
Two points that I found of especial interest:

• 73% of folk are "willing to pay a premium for companies that contribute to my local community"
• "The key to moving a customer is a good story"

The ten point summary (page 208) is somewhat American but applies just as much to us Limeys.
Read the book, assess your values and consider changing your business.

That Local Story

Local produce is big and you need specifics, not blah blah.  Great messages at the National Trust's Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire and Lancashire's Barton Grange Garden Centre

Telling a Good Story - Part 3

Union Market by Fulham Broadway tube (above) and Vital Ingredient in the City (below)

Part 1 - http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/06/telling-good-story.html

Part 2 - http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/07/telling-good-story-part-2.html

Telling A Good Story - Part 2

Pret is just the best with telling their story plus great visuals.  Part 1 with the better efforts of some one-off cafes published on 25th June http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/06/telling-good-story.html

Telling a Good Story

How good is yours?