Night shift at a coffee shop

[rheasilvia]

Setting:My character is working a late night shift at a coffee shop open around the clock, in an urban fantasy setting most comparable to present-day central Europe (though US or Canada info would also be extremely helpful). The coffee shop is not downtown, but is located in a fairly central location close to the university, and many students live

Comments

[lied_ohne_worte]

Where in "central Europe" do you want it to be? I've never seen a coffee shop in Germany that was open round the clock. Even the one in Cologne Central Station is closed from 11 PM to 6 AM.

[alextiefling]

Even here in London there's nowhere outside 'downtown' that would employ baristas and be open 24/7. The only 24-hour Starbucks I know is at St Pancras International Station (so I guess if you're taking the night train to Cologne, buy coffee first?). There are 24 hour cafes, but they're old-school greasy spoons which cater to night shift workers and stoned clubbers. Berlin seemed similar when I was there - kebab shops might be open all night, or nearly so, but not coffee shops.

[rheasilvia]

I've just edited my post to reflect that the story is an urban fantasy, set in a fictional country in central Europe. So I am taking the liberty of positing that 24 hour coffee shops / cafes do exist, although I would like to stay as realistic as possible within this non-realistic framework.

Sorry, I should have been clearer about the setting!

[sollersuk]

Well, that's the problem: in real life we don't have the experience to draw on so it's hard to make helpful suggestions.

[lilacsigil]

I can tell you about the baked goods! Bakeries generally start up about 2-3am so they can make their deliveries from about 5-8am. Your cafe will receive its items some time in that bracket depending where they are in the delivery run - being already open they're probably conveniently early. Some places donate their unused goods to homeless kitchens/shelters or food banks, others let staff take what they want, others limit what staff can take, some throw out everything - it's really up to what your owner is like. One bakery cafe near where I went to uni was super popular because from 5-7am you could get day-old everything extremely cheaply. I would hop off the bus, buy my lunch for the day and get back on the bus to work.

Staffing is going to depend entirely on customers. If you're in an area with lots of late night dining, nightclubs, students (as you mention), a 24-hour station or transit hub etc. you could easily need two people on staff. If you're in primarily a shopping district, probably not.

[rheasilvia]

Cool, thank you very much! This is very helpful. :-) I did assume that the handling of the leftovers would be largely a matter of the owner's discretion, but wasn't sure what would be a realistic choice.

I love the idea of an early-morning sale on yesterday's goods - that makes a lot of sense. I think I will adopt this idea, and anything that still isn't sold can be eaten or taken away by the employees.

[contrariwise]

US experience here: You'll likely get a rush of people around whenever the nearby bars close. Same if there's a movie theater nearby, or a club. If public transportation slows or stops at a certain time, you'll get people nursing a coffee while they wait for the first morning bus or train. If you get a lot of university traffic, you'll see an uptick in customers staying late to study during finals. You'll also see a drop in customers during school breaks. If you bake your baked goods on site, the baker(s) come in early--3-4 in the morning--to start the AM bake. If you get deliveries instead, they might come around 5-7 in the morning

[rheasilvia]

Oooh, so much traffic info! This is great, and exactly what I needed to know. I'll have to work out when a good quiet time would be, but 2 to 3 AM (outside of finals) is looking good - somewhat after the movie theater's late movies, but before the bars close. I'm thinking public transport slows somewhat between 1 and 4 AM, so there'll also be some people waiting for the next bus or train. It'll be great to have my character thinking about some of this.

The safe with the slot is a great detail that I would never have thought of! Thank you very much, this is all extremely useful.

[kdorian]

I'm going to second the 'after the bar close rush'. Some people are going to want a cup of coffee to make them more alert, or just want to give themselves a little more sober-up time before they drive home.

Also, a while (30 to 45 minutes) before the public transit morning commute really starts up; depending on when that happens. It first early-morning 'rush' will probably be 2-3 hours before the period that most people think of as the morning commute time.

[vyperdd]

I work at a 24 hour petrol station in Australia that also has a small café so I'm a part-time barista as well so some of my answers should be helpful, I hope

[usekh]

5-Seriously that is just fucking criminal. But sadly common.

[rheasilvia]

This is extremely helpful indeed, thank you very much! :-)

On reflection, my character will probably have to work alone for much of the night, too; unfortunately, the training and renovation exceptions you mention won't work in the context of the story. Since I can't plausibly have two people working the entire overnight shift, I'm thinking I will have the second character help out for a few hours early on in the night, and then leave when traffic drops off. Someone else can come in to help with the early morning crowd.

It's good to know that some of the baked goods are likely to have a considerably longer shelf life (I would never have expected 5 days!), and I think I will adopt the practise of baking raw pastries fresh every morning. That sounds like an excellent idea. :-) Thanks again!

[evila_elf]

If your character is in an unsafe area, there might need to be an extra person for safety purposes.

[rheasilvia]

Very good point - though it's a safe area, so my character will be okay alone.

ETA: Safety is more of a concern than I had initially assumed! You are absolutely right - my character should not be alone on shift, regardless of how safe or unsafe the area. General store policy. :-)

[evila_elf]

That makes it easy then :)