How this Café has flourished amidst the Covid-19 outbreak.
John from Fibonacci Muswellbrook
“Who’s got the Bad Boy and the Pash & Shoot?” yells John as he serves up one of Muswellbrook’s infamous $10 burgers laden with fresh ingredients and homemade sauce and a milkshake, to go. At a time when most Café’s have closed their doors in despair, John has been quick to adapt and insisted that his business “will not go down”. John’s got 1kg bags of Coffee, value orientated meals and pantry essentials with safe pick up options and clear social distancing measures. John understands his community and delights & caters to their needs. Here are our key takeaways:
1) Innovate & adapt to customer needs.
Just a week after the closure of dine in Cafes and John has gone from having his usual, traditional Café to offering takeaway food in fresh and frozen options, coffee in bags or takeaway which includes ‘bucket’ sized coffee and even pantry essentials. As Geena Davis once said, “If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.”. In the current economic climate, Cafes need to be able to adapt and innovate quickly.
2) Differentiate yourself.
I’d rather have egg on my face than regret not trying it” says John, the owner befittingly as he serves up the controversial ‘Egg Slut’ breakfast burger. A name that has the whole town grinning every time it is ordered and sets tongues wagging. Combined with John’s charisma, it is a huge success for the Café’s takings. Create an experience- even during takeaway, something worth noticing and sharing, and you will ensure that customers don’t just whip it up at home or head to another Café.
With a large shift in the industry comes the opportunity to re-evaluate your business and take it to the next level. Increase efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, invest in things that make a key difference such as irreplaceable staff and a unique touch.
3) Give back to your community.
When times are tough for us personally, we often forgo helping others. After all, we are just trying to stay afloat ourselves. Helping others has been shown to increase happiness levels significantly and can create great opportunities. In donating Coffee to those on the front line such as policemen, hospital staff etc. John found that he acquired a new customer base despite this never being his intent. Erwins Distribution heard of John’s generosity despite him insisting it not be shared on social media and generously gifted him a huge supply of packaging goods. The Café is now also being considered as a potential supplier of meals for more than 50 people already in isolation which could mean more than 700 meal orders a week.
