Steady Hand Cafe | Application Preview
Steady Hand Cafe is seeking government grants to support their growth and community-focused initiatives. The funding will either facilitate the expansion of a second coffee cart to enhance mobile catering and market presence or support the establishment of a brick-and-mortar café with seating and a large preparation area for their mobile operations and wholesale bottled lattes.
Their five-year business plan includes:
- Year 1: Expanding to a second cart for more local events and markets.
- Year 2: Establishing a brick-and-mortar location with café service and event space.
- Year 3: Expanding catering services and starting wholesale sales of bottled lattes.
- Year 4: Beginning in-house coffee roasting to reduce costs and create additional revenue.
- Year 5: Ideally opening a second location.
The café is woman-owned and focuses on community well-being, sourcing coffee from women-owned roasters. The founder's extensive experience in the food and beverage industry informs a unique approach to coffee, inspired by global culinary experiences. Their vision includes hosting community events, workshops, and offering scholarships for local youth aspiring to start their own ventures.
In terms of competition, they acknowledge local cafés but believe their innovative offerings significantly differ in experience and service. Unlike quick-service competitors, Steady Hand aims to provide a playful and creative coffee experience that fosters community engagement rather than just a simple beverage.
Overall, Steady Hand Cafe seeks to redefine the café experience, emphasizing community involvement, creativity, and an elevated approach to coffee.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 86-1657931
Location: Belmar, NJ, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
Depending on the amount of grant money awarded we will either build out a second cart and focus heavily on mobile catering and markets and save up for our brick and mortar or if we are awarded anything closer to our full ask, we will build out a brick and mortar with cafe space in the front to offer seated cafe service and a large prep/walk in refrigeration space in the back to accommodate the mobile coffee catering operations, wholesale bottling operations of our Lattes To-Go.
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Business Plan
Year 1- Expand to a second coffee cart to accommodate more events and markets in our local area Year 2- Brick and mortar established with full seated cafe service and retail/event space to host community and art focused events Year 3- Increase catering offerings and introduce wholesale sales of our bottled lattes to local hotels and businesses Year 4-Begin roasting our own coffee to cut costs and introduce a new wholesale revenue stream for the business Year 5- Ideally second location Steady Hand Cafe & Collective is a woman owned cafe dedicated to investing in the well being of our community. We source our coffee from woman owned coffee roasters and growers, our drinks are inspired by cocktails and meals I've encountered during my travels and experiences in the food and beverage industry (as a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with 10+ years in the coffee industry). I've cultivated a coffee experience for our customers and our community that goes beyond just having a casual cup of coffee. Our drinks and the space we envision building is colorful, intentional, playful with flavor and presentation and consistently involves the local community in it's growth. Once fully established we hope to start a scholarship for the youth in our community looking to start their own businesses/creative endeavors. We plan to host workshops taught by local creatives we have relationships with, offer classes on at-home coffee preparation, and so much more. It's our goal to create an elevated space that is a hub for our community.
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Self Identified Competition
There are a few local cafes that are smaller and will sell coffee, so inherently I suppose that is our competition, but I feel that our offerings are vastly different than what anyone else in our area is offering. So in it's most basic sense: Cafe Volan, Asbury Park NJ is a small independently owned cafe who also roasts their own coffee. Their menu is very simple and limited to basics and their space is really only meant to accommodate a few people inside during service but they are located in the heart of Downtown Asbury Park so that gives them an upperhand on access to volume of sales. Rook and Booskerdoo would be the next possible competitors but that is only because of their brand recognition in the region. What they offer in terms of the overall guest experience is very different from what Steady Hand Cafe is planning to offer, as these businesses are quick service volume driven. Steady Hand Cafe & Collective is taking the typical cafe and turning it on it's head. The space, the service, the offerings are meant to feel more like a playful experience utilizing ingredients that you'd expect to see on a cocktail menu, service that takes the time to talk about what it is that they're creating (and why!), and a colorful and creative space that feels like being inside of an artist's mind. All of that is in comparison to your quick cup of brown bean juice from your local grumpy barista in a sterile white tiled space. Coffee was meant to be a collective experience that brings community together and we want to do that while elevating the experience.
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Contact Applicant
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