Open a self-service coffee shop in Frankfurt am Main

Coffee to go in Frankfurt: who buys on the move

Frankfurt is a commuter city. Many people who work here live in the Rhine-Main area outside the city and come in every morning by S-Bahn, regional train or car. Most S-Bahn lines run through the same tunnel under the city centre, from the Hauptbahnhof via Taunusanlage and Hauptwache to Konstablerwache. Those who get off there take the same route to the office every day, and for many a coffee to take away is part of it. Hardly anyone wants to sit at a table: the cup should be in their hand within a minute.

Most of these customers are where people change. Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof connects long-distance trains, regional trains, the S-Bahn, the U-Bahn and the tram. At Hauptwache and Konstablerwache the S-Bahn and U-Bahn meet, and at Willy-Brandt-Platz and Bockenheimer Warte several U-Bahn lines cross. Frankfurt (Main) Süd and Frankfurt-Höchst are further interchange stations, and long-distance and regional trains stop at the airport.

The second group works in offices, and Frankfurt has plenty of them. In the Bankenviertel, towers such as the Deutsche Bank twin towers, the OpernTurm and the TaunusTurm stand close together, and the Messeturm stands by the exhibition grounds. Then there are Bürostadt Niederrad, the Mertonviertel and the Westhafen. At the airport people work in shifts round the clock, including in the office buildings around the terminals.

The third group studies. Goethe-Universität has its large campuses in Westend and on the Riedberg, the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences is at Nibelungenplatz, and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is on Adickesallee. Between two classes, coffee is bought quickly and taken into the lecture hall. During the semester break fewer students come, and we factor that into the sales plan for a location at a university.

Which coffee shop formats we install in Frankfurt

In Frankfurt the choice usually falls on the indoor coffee shop, turnkey from €6 425. It stands in the lobby of an office building, in a shopping mall, at a university, in a hospital or in the checkout area of a supermarket. Cold and rain do not matter there, because the customers are inside anyway.

The outdoor coffee shop (from €10 709) needs no premises, has a vandal-resistant body and sells round the clock in any weather. It works well at an Aral, Shell or Esso petrol station, at a stop or in front of a shop in a residential area. You agree the spot with the owner of the space, that is, the shop, the petrol station or the building owner.

Then there is cold-drink: iced coffee, shakes and cold drinks for warm days. This format pays off where lots of people are outdoors in summer, on the banks of the Main, at Grüneburgpark, at Ostpark or at Volkspark Niddatal. We quote the price on request.

We do not decide in advance what suits your address. First we look at the site and how people move there, then we decide on the format. If you would like to sell something other than coffee, we will build a different vending machine turnkey: for ice cream, candyfloss, pizza or ready meals.

Where to put a coffee shop in Frankfurt

The map above shows the places in Frankfurt that lots of people pass every day: stops, S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations, supermarkets, office buildings, hospitals and universities. Tap your district, and you will see what is there. Below the map are the places where we start the search in Frankfurt.

Have you already found a free space in an office building or a spot at an S-Bahn station? Send us the address, and we will calculate the income for that exact site free of charge. If you do not have an address yet, we will do the search: we check the footfall, negotiate with the landlord and show you several options. 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 Frankfurt 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 Frankfurt

A location in the Bankenviertel and one in a residential area sell at different times. Between the office towers it is busy on weekday mornings and at lunchtime, and quieter in the evening and at weekends. In Bornheim or Sachsenhausen, on the other hand, the neighbours buy on Saturdays and Sundays too. Trade fairs at the exhibition grounds bring extra visitors, but only on a few days a year. That is why for each address we base the calculation on the week as it really is there, not on the best day.

Rents differ too: a space at the Hauptbahnhof or on the Zeil usually costs more than a spot in front of a supermarket in Fechenheim or Rödelheim. So we calculate the income for each address separately, taking into account the footfall, the drink price, the equipment and the rent of that exact site. By the way, many people in Frankfurt know the principle from the corner kiosk (Trinkhalle): stop briefly, buy something, walk on. A self-service coffee shop works the same way, just without a seller behind the counter.

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 Frankfurt, 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 Frankfurt separately and free of charge.

Kavil franchise in Frankfurt: 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 Frankfurt at once? Ask about our wholesale offer: from 2 to 10 locations.

FAQ: a self-service coffee shop in Frankfurt