Coffee talk | A chat with John Lamarre, owner of the Roast N Crumb in York.
Founded: October 2002
Revenues, year one: $240,000
Projected revenues, year two: $260,000
Address: 519 U.S. Rte. One, York
Phone:363-1595
Describe what your company does.
The Roast N Crumb combines coffee with light bakery items and sandwiches, homemade soups, turkeys and roast beefs and those types of things. The space we're in right now is an incubator space for us to try out new ideas.
Where did you get the idea for the business?
I am fascinated with the coffee business. There's kind of an intimacy with coffee today that's different from five years ago and different from even ten years ago. When I go out, I think, "gee, I'd like a fresh turkey sandwich," but in the fast food world, there's not too many places that can do that.
What was the biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
The time commitment. Every component of running this business is right here on my shoulders. You can't pick up the phone. No one is going to answer on the other end of the line to help.
What was your first day in business like?
It was nerve-wracking. I've opened everything from 150 to 300 seaters [restaurants], and this was different. We started with six seats or five seats, but the anxiety is no different than when you do the larger operations. There was a lot of hard work securing the equipment and food. I think we did $60 the first day. Of course we gave a lot of stuff away, but it was fun.
How many employees do you have?
We have four. We are as small as small gets in some businesses. And the dynamics of the four are very different in terms of what they bring to us. We have a couple of high school kids who just do a great job for us.
What's the competition like?
One of the discussions in town is whether Dunkin Donuts is going to come and if they're going to be our competition. I don't look at it that way. They become your competition because they serve coffee. Well, maybe that's true in the big sense, but I want to stay focused on what we do here and what we do within our four walls. We certainly have enough on our plate to attract our own customers.
What are your plans for growth?
In five years, we would like to have a fully operational Roast N Crumb with seating for 50, 60 or 70. We want to create a casual atmosphere where people can have a cup of coffee and a piece of cheesecake or a roast beef sandwich.
What could stop you?
[Customer] traffic is going to be critical. This summer, we anticipate that we'll have later hours to build traffic. We'd certainly attract more people if we have more seats for them to sit in.
What resources have proven most useful?
I keep listening to customers, and I give credit to the Darden Corporation [the Orlando, Fla.-based company that runs the Olive Garden and Red Lobster] for that. I was there for 23 years, and they drill it into you that you get one chance to make a first impression, and in the food business, the sensitivity is higher than anywhere else.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business and what you learned from it.
When we opened, we were selling donuts. People have a big appetite for donuts in some places. That didn't happen here. We were experiencing soft sales overall; our break-even was around 50, 60, 70 dozen a day, and the most we ever made was 30 dozen. So we were open five months and we decided to pull the plug on the donuts.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
I don't know if I'd take it. I could spend it, I know that, but we would miss learning in the process. I don't know if we'd want to sacrifice that.
White bread or wheat?
White bread, and the reason is that when we were talking about sandwiches, an elderly gentleman said, "I just want to be able to go to a place in town and get a tuna fish sandwich on white bread." A lot of places serve things on bulkie rolls and sub rolls, and I think that's what he was saying to us. If you want tuna on white here, you can get it. At the end of the day it comes down to basics.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to editorial@mainebiz.biz.
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