The Story of Ingrato Cafe and Start Up Advice Takeaways
Advice for start up breakfast cafe : advice from Ingrato Cafe in Guanajuato, Mexico
Angelica and Osea did not intend to open a specialty coffee shop when they first started out. In fact, they didn’t even like coffee.
At least, not at first.
Now they are passionate about coffees and their speciality cafe, the first in the city of Guanajuato to offer specialty coffees in 2017.
Here is their story, including tips for those starting a specialty cafe.
In 2017, they started their first cafe by renting a large space in a popular tourist area in the city of Guanajuato. Their vision was to open a bakery. There was a lot of foot traffic and they thought it would be perfect for selling pastries and cakes to passersby.
But it turned out that the people didn’t want sweet bakery items as take-away items as much as they wanted a place to sit and have a drink to go with the pastries.
Customers kept asking if they had coffee . Finally Angelica ran to the nearest big supermarket and used her credit card to buy a Breville coffee machine.
They quickly discovered that the machine they bought was not sufficient. They needed a commercial grade machine.
Angelica mentions that it was stressful not knowing anything about coffee or how to run a cafe.
They were scrambling to make everything work.
So they decided to take training.
They went to the annual Restaurant Expo in Mexico, where there were a lot of different classes and training opportunities, and products on display and available for purchase.
They learned about the international training and certification system for coffee making and cafes.
Angelica was taking as many courses as she could, on all manner of topics. One of them happened to be a course about specialty cafes. That’s when something clicked for her. A light bulb went on inside her mind. She loved the concept. This was what she wanted to do.
The more her and her husband learned about coffees and specialty cafes, the more passionate they became about the idea.
They opened in a different location in a different part of the city in 2020.
Thry spent a lot of money building the cafe and decorating it. They got the best quality equipment available and did everything possible to prepare for success.
However, their timing for opening a their cafe was not good. They opened just a couple of months before the global pandemic lockdowns started in 2020
On top of all the expenses of opening a new cafe, they suddenly had to deal with five months of being closed due to government requirements.
They still had to pay for rent, equipment loans, staffing, and operating expenses despite having no cafe income. It was a very stressful time. They had to pay out of pocket to keep the cafe alive, and they didn’t know how long the lockdowns would last.
They managed to get through it, in part because they had four associates helping pay the bills.
Angelica and her husband and two aunts are equal partners in this venture. This distributed financial base helped them survive the crisis.
Fortunately, this setback didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for their new cafe project.
They continued to stay open and continued taking training. They took as many certifications as they could. Angelica is now certified in three areas and her husband is certified in five.
They are passionate about providing the best products, and they decide what is best according to what they like.
They like the idea of certified organic, but Angelica noted that many certified organic coffees just don’t taste good. They prefer to sell what they personally prefer.
They also tested teas, matcha and chocolate suppliers,choosing to deal directly with the suppliers that they liked.
The Order of Priorities for their Cafe
- 1. Well trained staff
- 2. High quality products
- 3. Consistent open hours
- 4. Location
Angelica emphasized that knowledge and training is key. It’s not enough to take a course or two at the beginning. Get trained before, and while running the cafe. It’s a continual process. There is always something new to learn.
“Learning coffees is like learning fine wines. There is a lot to know to become an expert.” – Angelica
Lessons Learned Along the Way
You have to adapt to the needs of people in your location.
Just because you want to sell something doesn’t mean that is what the people in your location will want. You have to be willing to listen to what customers say they want.
In their first location, people wanted coffee more than bakery treats.
In their second location people asked for food to go with the coffees, not just pastries and cakes.
They had to learn to be flexible, and learn new things to meet customers demands in each location.
Resilience and Consistency is Essential for Success.
Osea commented on the necessity of continuing to stay open and keep appropriately staffed during your stated hours, no matter what.
Scheduling is tricky. Sometimes three staff is too many, and the next day it’s not enough.
They believe a key to their success is consistency. Osea says they that always show up and keep open no matter what.
They stuck to their hours even on days with few customers. This is not worthy in Mexico, where business hours are rarely predictable, or clearly stated, especially for cafe opening hours.
Offer new and unique things. Specialty cafes need more options than conventional cafes.
For example, they are the only cafe that sells blue matcha coffees and pink chai. Getting the word out has not been easy, but they believe that some customers people come just for the new taste sensations each month.
They offer blue matcha, pink chai and purple taro drinks, the only cafe in the city to do this. They also serve many ‘tisanes’ (whole tea) and a full menu of espresso drinks.
And they also provide traditional favourites.
The most popular item on the breakfast menu is ‘chilaquiles’, a traditional Mexican breakfast.
The second most popular is a breakfast sandwich called The Bear (el oso).
Marketing Tips
Since young people under 35 are always using social media, they started an Instagram channel.
Ingrato Cafe owners Angelica and Osea are an excellent role model for new cafe owners, with their passion for excellent drinks, food and service, and inspirational fortitude to persevere and overcome startup hardships.
Related Articles
Check out the ‘matcha’ article for more information about blue matcha an and other kinds of matchas.