Open a self-service coffee shop in Essen

Coffee to go in Essen: who buys on the move

In the Ruhr area the cities merge into one another, and many people live in one city and work in the next. They come to Essen from Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Oberhausen, by S-Bahn, regional train, Stadtbahn or bus. Coffee is bought on the way: on the platform, when changing to the Stadtbahn, on the last stretch to the office. These are the customers of a self-service coffee shop: people who do not take a seat, but pick up the cup in a minute.

The most important hub is Essen Hbf, where long-distance and regional trains, the S-Bahn, the Stadtbahn and buses meet. Then there are Essen-Steele in the east, Essen-Altenessen in the north, Essen West, Essen Süd and the station in Borbeck. The Stadtbahn runs under the city centre, and at the stations Berliner Platz, Hirschlandplatz, Rüttenscheider Stern and Universität Essen people change or get off.

The second group works in offices. Essen is home to large companies, and their office buildings are spread across the city. Around the Philharmonie station stand the Glückaufhaus and HDI Gerling, the Ruhrturm is on Huttropstraße, the Europa Center at Bismarckplatz, and north of the city centre RWE has its headquarters. People who work there take a coffee with them in the morning and get a second one after lunch.

The third group studies or trains. Around the Universität Essen station north of the city centre lots of students are about, the Folkwang Universität der Künste is based in Werden, and many people study alongside their jobs at the FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management. There are also vocational colleges such as the Heinz-Nixdorf-Berufskolleg. During the semester break it gets quieter at the universities, and that belongs in the sales plan for a location there. A group of its own is the visitors to the Messe and the Gruga, who get off at the Messe West/Süd/Gruga station.

Which coffee shop formats we install in Essen

Most partners start with the indoor coffee shop, turnkey from €6 425. In Essen it fits, for example, into Limbecker Platz or the Rathaus Galerie Essen, an office building, a university, a hospital or the checkout area of a supermarket. Whether it rains or freezes makes no difference to this location, because the customers are already inside.

The outdoor coffee shop (from €10 709) stands in the open, sells round the clock in any weather and is protected against vandalism. It needs no premises, just a spot at a petrol station, at a stop or in front of a shop in your district. You discuss the spot with the owner of the space, for example the supermarket the kiosk will stand in front of.

Cold-drink is the summer format with iced coffee, shakes and cold drinks. It suits places where lots of people are outdoors in summer, on the shores of the Baldeneysee or in the Krupp-Park. We quote the price on request.

The format depends on the site: first we look at the address and the routes people take there, then we decide. Instead of coffee, the machine can also sell ice cream, candyfloss, pizza or ready meals, and we build that kind turnkey too.

Where to put a coffee shop in Essen

The map above shows places in Essen that lots of people pass every day: stops, stations, Stadtbahn stations, supermarkets, office buildings, hospitals and universities. Tap your district and see what is nearby. Below you will find the places where we start in Essen.

Have you already found a spot in a shopping mall, an office building or at a station in Essen? Send us the address, and we will work out free of charge what income this site can bring. If you do not have one yet, we will do the search: we check the footfall, negotiate with the landlord and present several options to you. You pay for the search only after you sign the lease with the landlord, and only if you like the site.

How much a self-service coffee shop in Essen costs

A turnkey indoor coffee shop costs from €6 425 incl. VAT. Outdoor coffee shop: from €10 709. Cold-drink: price on request. Installation anywhere in Germany is charged separately from the price of the coffee shop.

The basic set includes a Kavil-branded kiosk with LED lighting, a Saeco or Jetinno coffee machine, a terminal for card and smartphone payments, Kavil brand design and telemetry. The final price depends mainly on the coffee machine model, and also on the options and the installation. Banknote and coin acceptors and a custom design can be added separately.

You pay in two parts, and only after signing the contract, which sets out the coffee machine model, the equipment, the amount and the deadlines. You make the prepayment after signing and pay the rest at installation. After that, each month you pay rent, taxes and the bank fee for card payments, and you buy ingredients and cups. You do not hand us any percentage of your sales.

What matters in Essen

Essen is not the same everywhere. Around Rüttenscheider Straße there are lots of cafés, restaurants and bakeries, and during the day there is plenty of choice. A self-service coffee shop sells there mainly when the others are not yet or no longer open, that is, early in the morning and late in the evening. In Altenessen, Katernberg or Kray, on the other hand, what counts is the daily route to the stop, the supermarket and work. A location there lives on regular customers who come back every day.

Many people in the Ruhr area drive, and the Ruhrschnellweg A40 and the A52 run through Essen. For drivers, the petrol station is the natural stop for a coffee, and the Essen map shows more than 70 of them. An outdoor coffee shop that sells round the clock fits there. The calculation shows which address pays off for you, taking into account the footfall, the drink price, the equipment and the rent of that exact site.

What you need to launch

You need no business experience. We open turnkey coffee shops even for people who have never run a business: we train you from scratch, and from the day the contract is signed you have a personal manager. We help you with the bank account and the payment terminal step by step.

It all starts with a conversation. You leave your number, we call back, calculate the income for the site you have chosen in Essen, put together the equipment package and show you the inside of the coffee shop on Zoom. This stage moves at your pace. You read the contract before you pay, and the countdown starts with the prepayment: it takes up to 30 days from then to the first cup. In that time we build the coffee shop in our own workshop, look for a site if you ask us to, and then deliver, install and set up the coffee shop.

Looking after the location itself takes about 15 minutes once every two or three days: topping up ingredients and collecting the takings. You can easily combine this with your main job. You see sales and stock levels on your smartphone, so you know when it is time to go to the location.

How much Kavil partners earn

Taras has a network of 3 locations in retail areas and busy walkways. After 5 months of operation it brought him more than €1 770 of net profit a month. Bohdan has 1 indoor location by an entrance: 80 drinks a day and more than €880 a month after 6 months. Vladyslav has 2 indoor locations with steady footfall: more than €1 480 of net profit a month after 5 months.

Kavil partners’ figures (December 2024), converted to euros. Results vary from location to location: these are examples, not a guarantee. Coffee prices, rents and costs depend on the site, so we do not carry these figures over directly. We calculate the income for your address in Essen separately and free of charge.

Kavil franchise in Essen: what you get

You buy the equipment, and the business is entirely yours: 0 royalties, so no monthly share of your sales goes to us. We roast our own coffee, and you buy our beans 25% cheaper than from competitors. We build the coffee shops in our own workshop, buy Saeco and Jetinno coffee machines directly, with no dealer markup, and you get beans, ingredients and cups from us with no middlemen. Thanks to telemetry, you see sales and stock levels on your smartphone every day.

The equipment comes with a warranty, and we write its term into the contract. If sales drop, we go through the figures together, and if the site turns out to be weak, we plan a move. If you change your mind or the location does not work out, we will buy back the equipment at 60% of its value; the buyback terms are in the contract. Would you like several coffee shops in Essen at once? Ask about our wholesale offer: from 2 to 10 locations.

FAQ: a self-service coffee shop in Essen