Coffee counters rarely collapse overnight. They fail slowly—through daily friction.
The real reasons coffee counters fail
- Peak load underestimated (rush-hour demand not mapped)
- Taste drift (no fixed ratios, no calibration)
- Single staff dependency (counter shuts when one person is absent)
- No daily checklist (cleaning/refill happens "when possible")
What stable operations look like
- Standard recipes and measured inputs - Peak-hour simplified menu - Backup staffing plan and quick substitution workflow
Coffee doesn't need heroics. It needs systems that don't break on busy days.