Operations: Brew Masters

Premium products and more-attentive service help perk up coffee sales throughout the day.

By Christine LaFave, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 10/15/2007

Restaurant customers appreciate an attractive space, a friendly server and an original, flavorful dish. But regardless of the daypart and the type of establishment, if customers aren’t satisfied with an operation’s coffee program, they’re likely to leave with a bad taste in their mouth about their overall dining experience.

Gale Gand, executive pastry chef for Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based Cenitare Restaurants, understands the importance of the coffee service at her Gale’s Coffee Bar in the Westin Chicago North Shore hotel in Wheeling, Ill. "I’m the pastry chef there, and I’d like to think that the focus is on the food, but really it’s on the coffee," says Gand, the James Beard Foundation’s 2001 Pastry Chef of the Year and a partner (with Chef Rick Tramonto) in Cenitare. "The rest of it is kind of food to go along with the coffee, to be honest."

Given that coffee can make or break a meal, how can restaurateurs improve their coffee operations? Tailoring service to meet customers’ changing needs throughout the day is an obvious start, says Waldo Cesoni, general manager of Daily Grill in downtown Los Angeles. On weekday mornings, when meal times are shorter and patrons are in search of their first caffeine fix, servers greet diners with a pot of coffee in hand.

"The first thing guests hear after ‘Good morning’ is ‘Would you like some coffee?’" Cesoni says. "We leave a coffeepot on each table." This attentive service—a recognition of the fact that the last thing work-bound customers want is to have to hunt down servers for a refill—helps build loyalty to the restaurant, he adds.

"We didn’t create anything to be like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe you’re doing that.’ but customers comment, ‘You guys get it,’" Cesoni says.

A Reason to Get Together

Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago built its reputation on its coffee—the 84-year-old family restaurant even proclaims in neon lights that it’s "serving the world’s finest coffee." Adhering to basic brewing rules is the most important element, says Heleen Thomas, Lou Mitchell’s general manager.

"You have to cook the coffee at a high-enough temperature that you’re actually brewing the coffee, not steeping it," Thomas says. "If you go with too-low temperatures, too much oil will seep from the beans, and you’ll end up with that oily layer on top."

Thomas estimates that Lou Mitchell’s pours 12,000 cups of coffee every week. Coffee, she says, still offers people a reason to get together; publicizing a stand-out element of a coffee program can invite in groups that may not have thought of the operation as a meet-up destination. "Don’t forget, going out for a cup of coffee is a social thing or a break thing," Thomas says.

At Gale’s Coffee Bar, subtle and not-so-subtle cues let customers know that coffee operations are given as much respect as pastry preparation. "If you look at a menu, the coffee drinks are listed first; the food is second," Gand says. Business travelers, she notes, appreciate that the restaurant serves coffee and espresso from a nationally known brand; it’s a move that indicates to them quality and consistency.

An open coffee-and-espresso prep station captures attention too, Gand says. "I always find there’s fascination with what goes on behind the scenes," she says. "Why hide some of the most exciting smells, sounds and action that is going on?"