I'm in the planning stages of opening a storefront. working on the business plan, checking into rent prices, etc.

I have a hard time "invisioning" a room full of equipment, etc. and I wanted to know what square footage areas you have for your shop. and possibly how you have it split up as far as front walk in/consult areas and kitchen. I have an idea in my head as far as how i want it to look and be laid out, but i don't want something that i'll outgrow once everything's in there and want to have some room to expand for the future too.

I've found one that's 2500 square feet and two that I believe are smaller, not sure on the square footage for them until I go look at them. but the 2500 square foot one is a great price and great location haven't seen the inside yet. just don't want it to be too small from the get go.

TIA
Aimee

Aimee,

My shop is 1,200 sq foot, most of it is storefront, bathroom, office, lounge area, and seating.

When we first signed the lease, the kitchen space looked huge (I'm not sure what the square footage of the kitchen alone is) and once all the equipment was put in, it looks tiny. It's usually 4 of us in the kitchen working at the same time and we're constantly bumping into each other.

It would probably be best to see what equipment you need first, and draw a floor plan of your potential space to see how much "open room" you'll have leftover.

I'm still in construction, so not sure how it will all be when we are actually working, but I have I have about 1250 square feet. The office and room for display/consults are about 300 square feet together, the walk-in is 80 square feet, the bathroom is about 50 square feet and the rest is kitchen--and I'm already afraid we'll run out of room for storage, though we have no seating, bake by special order only, and I know lots of people do this with a much smaller kitchen. There will be three of us sharing space and equipment, if all goes well, so we will just have to make it work!

I had 1150 square feet in my shop. 50 sq ft was restroom. The rest was about 60/40 between kitchen/front area. The front area was a combination of display room, consultation, my office and storage. In the kitchen I had a good size walk-in 'frig, veggie prep sink, 3 compartment sink, hand sink, commercial dishwasher, 6-burner stove, double convection oven, deep fryer, 2-doorfreezer and a food warmer. And other stuff.

Bear in mind that I also did catering, so I had a few more kitchen pieces and some add'l equipment that you won't have (like storage space for 400 plates and 1600 pcs of silverware!)

No matter what you plan, you will need more space for storage. I'm betting no one on here will disagree with me. Whatever you planned for shelving and counter space, allocate twice as much. Seriously. Just do it.

If you have the first issue of Cake Central magazine, I did an article on "Things I Wish I'd Known ...... " before I actually opened the shop.

I don't think the 2500 sq ft will be too small.

I'll have to build out for the kitchen but has a bathroom and other than that it's open space. (just from talking to the agent and looking at the pictures online). It does have a long counter/bar built in just as you walk in along the wall. i'm going to try to get with the agent this week to look inside. it's a GREAT location. right downtown less than 500 feet from the courthouse right across the street from the city government buildings. and a lot of little businesses and offices up and down the street great for foot traffic. i'm planning on doing more than just custom orders...meaning i'll have stuff on hand for daily sales. i'll have seating area plus consult area too. rent is $1000. It has a basement that would be available if i needed it up front or at a later time. it's going to be a small shop. right now i'll be the only decorator. planning on one or two employees for baking and help running the front.

here's another question, I know some bakeries have the "decorating space" open to where customers can see what's going on....I'm thinking against this just because it would be a distraction to me. thoughts???
Deb, I don't have the CC magazine. but on that note...I would like to know what everyone didn't do or have that they wished they had done or gotten when they opened up.

what are some other things that you've done to generate more "daily" income?

You have some good points about that. I can just see some snotty nosed kid with a sucker in one hand and banging on the window with the other hand. lol... I'm a reserved person that gets "stage fright" some which i'm getting a lot better with and that's my reference of "distraction" I may rethink that in my plans to where I can be seen or not given the day.

Great topic!

What did you look for in your lease/rent space? Other than square footage and location, is there anything that you just had to have? I'm just thinking about starting the planning stages of a biz, so any info here is appreciated!

anything that goes with your theme or what you want for a layout. Like I know that I don't want something in a strip mall that only has room for 3 people in the front/sales area and have to do consults over the counter. I want something large to have consult table/area and seating. The space I have found is absolutely perfect. I"m up against another business to get the space. will be getting my business plan over to the owner to hopefully "win him over"

This place sounds like a dream if you can afford the rent and think you'll generate enough income to make it worthwhile! Speaking as a person who hopes to have a business in the next couple of years (even if it's just a home-based one with no store front), I wish you the best of luck in this venture!

Wow! 2500 sq ft for $1000/mo! Lucky you - anything that size around here would be over the 2-grand mark for rent!