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A real moto cafe

 
We used to have motojava, well we still kinda do. but now the java part of it is gone.
 
I've always had a far fetched fantasy of having a cool cafe next to Santa Clara Cycle ... I'd call it Scooters . The logo would have two motorcycle tires in the logo kinda like another place that is in the chicken wing business :cool.

With any business there is always going to be lots of challenges. In the moto game, the # of motorcyclists is very small ... in the food game the # of restaurants is very high and very competitive.

If anyone wants to use my idea and last longer than 24 months with Scooters, I will gladly buy food and beverages from you :thumbup.
 
Frame Maker said:
See See Motorcycles (and Coffee) in Portland is what you're looking for. Half coffee shop, half motorcycle shop... then came The One Moto Show... then came a second location in Nevada.

Maybe the bay area isn't hipster enough to support a similar business model:dunno

https://www.seeseemotorcycles.com/
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The video from SEE SEE obviously shows they have a sense of humor...

"No turtles harmed" :laughing

Wonder what there tie in with Fox is?
 
You can get coffee at Zeitgeist if you get up after 9am
 
Woody146 said:
Buy the old mt Madonna inn, convert to Moto hangout, bar/ grill. Been a dream of mine since I first rode past it

There is a coffee shop in Pescadero that has vintage bikes in the window. I’ve never stopped, just rode through. Usually some nice bikes out there Sunday mornings
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Pescadero shop is good, go there all the time. Only challenge is insufficient seating on weekends for the number of people that show up, many of whom are riders. Good hot chocolate and coffee drinks.
 
Frame Maker said:
See See Motorcycles (and Coffee) in Portland is what you're looking for. Half coffee shop, half motorcycle shop... then came The One Moto Show... then came a second location in Nevada.

Maybe the bay area isn't hipster enough to support a similar business model:dunno

https://www.seeseemotorcycles.com/

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x5495a0ba5ee58939:0x3740ad7318fc1b77!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOhxIhTIp26ReIRejQS0fwyWA-qSPNmdyzczkf3%3Dw213-h160-k-no!5ssee+see+motorcycles+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipOhxIhTIp26ReIRejQS0fwyWA-qSPNmdyzczkf3&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit0qaUgubeAhUJIDQIHQEKCsQQoiowFnoECAYQBg
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I was going to post this
SeeSee is cool, Reno spot is super cool, I go there often. FMX legend Drake McElroy was running it when it first opened but I think he has stepped back from it.
 
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There’s a local scooter guy that has a Vespa powered coffee/espresso cart that parks at the Talbott museum in Carmel valley on weekends, that’s about as close as we get around here.
 
I've thought about this a lot as well. I spoke with owner of Black Lightning Cafe in Eureka about 3 yrs ago passing through when it was still open, not only was it a cafe serving hot food, but it stocked some really good gear that I had never even seen our neighboring bay area shops carry in variety (Racer5, Klim, etc). He said the motorcycle population is just way too small, I told him in SF it would be a hit, sure there'd be growing pains but I would visit a place like that more than any other shop we have in the bay.

My question is, why doesn't a current shop put in an espresso maker, teach a staff member how to make espresso beverages on the side, and have some short hours to draw riders coming in? The only store I know that does this is Dainese by having MotoGp days or Italian Bike night, offering free food on most occasions. Motoguild has some events on occasion.

There is also the socia facebook group,l Motorcycle Cafe that highlights cafes around SF by offering free coffee and discounted merch/food, all for the goodness of building mc camaraderie. There is a decent turnout. I only went to one at Schott's in SF, about 50 so or riders, coming and going.

I've heard tales of Ace Cafe, never understood why we don't have a common stomping ground either. To make it appealing, I think you not only have to sell coffee but also have something tied to it like service or gear to make it worthy, otherwise it's just another coffee shop in a saturated market (at least in SF) to make it alluring for riders to drop by. If you have it on a favorite road, business is only going to peak on weekends.
 
How long could a business stay open where people just stand around in the parking lot and don't spend any money?
Sure a few riders will order a drink and occasionally order a sandwich but the parking lot will be filled with squidly motorcyclists taking up all the parking spaces of actually paying customers.
 
Blankpage said:
How long could a business stay open where people just stand around in the parking lot and don't spend any money?
Sure a few riders will order a drink and occasionally order a sandwich but the parking lot will be filled with squidly motorcyclists taking up all the parking spaces of actually paying customers.
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Alice's/stp?
 
Maybe out in Bayview-Hunter's Point, before rents go up too much.

I'd ride out there and have a cuppa now and then, especially if they have a "lending library" of cool bikes.

All we need is One "Moto-TechBro" or Entertainer with enough cash fund it.

https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-california-motorcyclist-profile-20140825-story.html

7DQPB2X3OBE3HFT4C7NY5B24SU.jpg


In the late 60s, early 70s a lot of riders stopped at this place on Telegraph (Just down from Ashby, but I forget the name) , that had an old classic bike featured every so many months. The Mediterraneum also a favorite of Hell's Angels, Hell Riders, and others in the old days, Pepe's Pizza, too.

TT Motors had a bakery up the street, so the local Brit/Italian riders often hung out, drank coffee and BSd about bikes.
Paladin was always around, discussing everything from Hepolite pistons to Metallurgical applications. A walking encyclopedia, poet with greasy fingernails.
paladin2.jpg
 
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NoTraffic said:
I've thought about this a lot as well. I spoke with owner of Black Lightning Cafe in Eureka about 3 yrs ago passing through when it was still open, not only was it a cafe serving hot food, but it stocked some really good gear that I had never even seen our neighboring bay area shops carry in variety (Racer5, Klim, etc). He said the motorcycle population is just way too small, I told him in SF it would be a hit, sure there'd be growing pains but I would visit a place like that more than any other shop we have in the bay.
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Looks to me like retail space in SF is going for $30-60 sq. ft. at the moment. If you want to have a small 1000 sq. ft. coffee + retail space you're talking $30-60K month in rent alone. That means you'd need to sell 200-400 $5 cups of coffee every single day of the month to pay rent. Start adding in the cost of insurance, taxes, employees, and inventory and I wouldn't be surprised if your expenses go up 1.5-2X. Sadly, I don't think the larger motorcycling population in SF will make up for the astronomically higher rents...
 
fubar929 said:
Looks to me like retail space in SF is going for $30-60 sq. ft. at the moment. If you want to have a small 1000 sq. ft. coffee + retail space you're talking $30-60K month in rent alone. That means you'd need to sell 200-400 $5 cups of coffee every single day of the month to pay rent. Start adding in the cost of insurance, taxes, employees, and inventory and I wouldn't be surprised if your expenses go up 1.5-2X. Sadly, I don't think the larger motorcycling population in SF will make up for the astronomically higher rents...
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This current economic cycle will peter out, just like every other boom, it will be followed by a bust.
It wasn't that long ago we had the DotComBomb. In my old neighborhood, all the Neuvaux Riche packed up and moved back to Iowa, Kansas etc., leaving their home office servers, desktops, desks, fancy chairs, furniture on the street at the beginning of every month as the recession continued.

Same thing around 2010, things got soft, and people left, and both times, rents went down accordingly.

My forecast: We'll be in recession again, starting in about a year to 18 months from now. Not going in to the reasons why, except that we are seeing similar conditions as the last 4 recessions.

Of course, a lot of motorcyclists will disappear, too. But at least the traffic will improve.
 
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Starbucks does fine.

So we need to set up a biker Starbucks. Or Pete's.
 
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