/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.7374465]

How does /cgl/ feel about maid and butler cafes? Have you ever gone to one? Are they profitable? Worth the usually high cost?

pic related, there's one fakeboi "butler cafe" in my area that i've noticed has been holding events outside of cons, I think because they don't get accepted to most conventions. I knew maid cafes were still popular, but people still like the crossdressing ones?

[Anonymous No.7374469]

I love maid cafes, but unfortunately they're almost always done terribly.

IMO, maids should be attractive and should have waitressing and conversational skills. They should all wear the same style of uniform (Even if it's just shitty BL uniforms, make sure everybody wears the same one!) and should be presented beautifully with well styled hair and make-up.

Unfortunately, that seems to be too much to ask from most maid cafes.

[Anonymous No.7374491]

I love maid cafes, in my area, we've seen a lot come and go.
I think the only way a maid cafe can do well in the US is

>for the love of god, don't hire uggos just because they're your friend
maybe some hardcore weebs might go because "zomg" maid cafe, but the rest of us aren't paying extra and traveling a bit of the ways out here to be served by some hambeast who thinks she's hot shit.

>also, don't hire 15 girls that look the same, you need some variety, not all customers have the same tastes.
get some different ethnicities in there too, get tall girls, short girls, chubby girls, cute girls, beautiful girls, exotic looking girls, and market them in a way that flatters them. like a beautiful girl might want to be marketed as "Cute" but no, it isn't gonna work. hell, throw in some pretty boys to work there as butlers too

>you are going to scare away normalfags with the whole maid thing. that is why these cafes keep failing.
get a set number of days to have as normal days, and have maid days, on weekends or whenever. gotta keep the normies around, they are the main part of the population!

>GOOD FOOD
don't serve cheapass ramen, get a good cook. I don't care how lovely these girls are, you need good food to do well

>activities! fun activities!
on your "maid days" have fun activities to do with customers! some might pay extra to do so even!
get some videogames setup, have those shy nerds open up with a game of apples to apples, you're choice!

>location
don't have your cafe in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, have it in a place where weebs can easily get to, the asian area of your city, wherever.

>uniforms.
yeah, you could go the bodyline route. but some maids boobs might be too big, or some maids might be too tall. don't go the boring black x white maid route, get some colors in there! make sure you have a good seamstress to help you out on this one

[Anonymous No.7374498]

My uni's anime club is supposedly putting on a maid cafe this spring.
I'm both horrified and excited by the prospect, as it will likely be cringe worthy yet hilarious.

[Anonymous No.7374512]

I just love to see bad maid cafes. There was talk of one opening in my area; they got themselves a facebook profile, hyped up a ton of weebs and then said they couldn't move on because their sponsor withdrew from the project. I felt kind of disappointed because I needed to see how awful it would be.

Also, I know it's the whole point of maid cafes, but I don't really like the moe aesthetic. I'd like to see something less cutesy and more grown-up and elegant, with a Victorian/Edwardian feel. With maids and footmen, not butlers. I guess it wouldn't have as much appeal for weebs, but maybe more normal people would be interested.

And yes, I have been watching too much Downton Abbey.

[Anonymous No.7374518]

>>7374465
>crossdressing cafe
All my fucking wants.

[Anonymous No.7374526]

They're nice as a gimmick but at the end of the day the front end employees are waiters and waitresses and that means the job is probably going to suck. If your employees are able to keep up the facade indefinitely then more power to them. It's good in small bursts at conventions but that means there's no time for team building or anything.

[Anonymous No.7374534]

They are not very profitable depending on the country, in mine (Austria) they wear maid-like uniforms at pretty much every traditional cake shop. The maid cafes on conventions on the other hand are shit due to only serving fastfood and annoying weebs being the maids usually.

[Anonymous No.7374540]

>>7374518
it exists. look up "hibari tei"

[Anonymous No.7374547]

They should have the same style of uniform, but different colors. Bodyline is probably the best route for this.

As that other Anon said, make sure they are all attractive, but don't look the same.
Also, now this is mostly for the normies that'll end up in there, but don't let the maids have too short of skirts, cleavage out, etc. because that will perpetuate the idea that it's a fetishy thing. Thigh highs with zettai ryouiki would look nice, but will probably add to the "this is a sex business!!" comments, so I'd stick to tights.

Good food is a must, though. I was starving my ass off and went to the maid cafe at a con once because I was hoping for food, but the girl at the door told me the only "food" they had was Pocky and High Chew, so I left.
It's not an actual cafe without food.
Sandwiches, small cakes, tea and coffee would all be a good menu for a cafe.

[Anonymous No.7374686]

>>7374547
>Good food is a must, though

This. I have some (food) industry training, and good, well presented food is definitely the most important aspect of any cafe, themed or not.

Food should be pretty, dainty and varied with options for those who may have particular dietary requirements such as allergies or vegetarianism.

Food should not be bought in unless you're hiring a professional catering company. It is not hard to put together some pretty sandwiches. You could even add to the weeb delight by buying those sandwich shapers used in bento making that make pretty, sealed sandwiches. Your selection should include sandwiches, scones, pastries (both sweet and savoury.) and cakes/petits fours.

You should use loose tea and provide jugs of milk and sugar cubes for the table. There should be more than one variety of tea available. Earl Grey is a must, as is a nice green tea.

Simply throwing a shop bought pastry on a paper plate or selling boxes of Pocky will not cut it.

[Anonymous No.7374691]

I want to have one, my father even offered to help fund it, but I don't have the business sense to make it work off-con season.

[Anonymous No.7374697]

>>7374465
I would give a fuck about butler cafes if the hosts were actual males and not fat/ugly women trying to pose as males. I want hot guys, not manly women.

[Anonymous No.7374698]

>>7374691
just some questions, how many of these did you implement >>7374491 ? and where are you located, do you have a website? would you like some concrit?


and also
>don't hire 15 girls that look the same, you need some variety, not all customers have the same tastes.
oh this, so much, you can tell people just hire others for their personal tastses. I'm just not attracted to average petite whitegirl #32. sorry.

>get good food
I've been made to wait 30 minutes for a cup of instant ramen. it was horrible.

these are my gripes about the last maid cafe I went to

[Anonymous No.7374700]

>>7374697
This. That OP picture is disgusting. Not a single person in there is attractive.

[Anonymous No.7374707]

I've only ever been to Japanese maid/butler cafes and never to a western/con one so I can't really compare the two.

[Anonymous No.7374737]

>>7374707
Well what were the Japanese cafes like?
>Quality of costumes
>Attractiveness of employees
>Quality of food/drink
>Variety of food/drink
>General atmosphere

[Anonymous No.7374772]

>>7374465
I would love them if they were taken more serious. I haven't been to one, but they all look like their put together just for fun and the moment stuff doesn't go their way they close. they could be profitable if it were more business oriented.
>business plan

>>7374491
I agree with this person, they get how it should be

>>7374686
good points on food
here some of mine
>research the time period or what your making food on I.E. went to Victorian tea party at a con once just made lunchbox style ham sandwhich and tea from a bottle. no effort at all.
>only go with catering if you have no idea on how to cook and you need great food but again research before just getting catering willy nilly
>if you have a culinary background you can make your own tea or tisane
>also for vegetarianism always make double because in personal experience even non-vegetarians will try or eat said item if it gets positive remarks.

some personal opinions
>don't do scones unless you know what your doing and how to make them flavorful not horrible tasting
>also petit fours are fairly easy if you know how make bakery quality cake, all your doing making micro version of it. same steps but just a whole lot cuter

>>7374691
start with a business plan, then move from there. cost control is where you start with making your money in the food business. in the sense of the cost of food item and percentage of profit from that sale.
then it just comes down to making profit or losing through operation cost

[Anonymous No.7374864]

My school's "cosplay club" had a "host club" event last semester....

[Anonymous No.7375010]

>>7374737
go2 maidrunner @ blogspot, it has much more information than any anon on 4chan will care to type out.

[Anonymous No.7375016]

I'm actually a sort of acquaintance (more like a friend of a friend) of some of the people in the cafe from OP and it seems pretty well run. I've never been but seem pictures and the food looks cute and I've heard it's tasty. The butlers look meh as guys but are pretty hot females so that helps.

Also when you look at their "competition" (pic related) they gain about 1000000000 attractive points for not being over 30 and morbidly obese >.<

[Anonymous No.7375028]

>>7375016
Which group is this? They look familiar...
>also, don't use >.<

[Anonymous No.7375036]

They're called Cafe Nocturne. I make the faces I like but I'll refrain for you, anon.

[Anonymous No.7375039]

>>7375028
>>7375016
>>7374465
All from Toronto, Knave of Hearts and Cafe Nocturne. They have this really stupid rivalry going, Knave is better but Cafe is more popular.

>mfw I know because I know one of the people from Cafe and she really hated the Knave people

[Anonymous No.7375046]

The maid cafe Anime Matsuri will be my first.

please be decent looking
please don't be weebs
please act at least a little bit "in character"

[Anonymous No.7375053]

>>7375046
..I thought that the deer was farting that balloon out.

[Anonymous No.7375062]

>>7375039
This. Cafe has been around a LOT longer and used to have a few members of Knaves in it so that's probably why there's the whole rivalry thing going on.

>>7375053
I did too, and was kind of disappointed to learn otherwise.

[Anonymous No.7375391]

>>7375062
From what I gather, they're all people who were kicked out from the original Toronto Cafe, and are so buttmad they created a rivalry. Both are stupid, though. Its all late 20/early 30s females pretending to be their own male OC's for 15 year old girls.

Whenever I see photos from either cafe everyone just looks so awkward

[Anonymous No.7375394]

>>7374534
>they wear maid-like uniforms at pretty much every traditional cake shop
Austria confirmed for kawaii!

[Anonymous No.7375399]

>>7375391
At first I thought she was wearing a really weird helmet.

[Anonymous No.7375401]

>>7375391
Yeah that's about the jist of it, I think.
Agreed on both looking awkward... but if I were forced I think I'd rather go to a Knaves event, they at least look a bit more polished in the photos.

Really though I'd just rather make tea at home, so any preference is entirely marginal.

[Anonymous No.7375427]

I agree with all of you! I love the idea of a maid café, but most of them are just shitty.

The issue with maid cafés is that, at least in the US, they're just a little event for a convention. People typically hold them for novelty, not to actually be /good/. The people who do run them probably lack the resources or skills to arrange something that is well executed. I don't know much about maid cafés but I assume that half the time the people running them are weebs with no taste or real sense of direction with event planning or running a business (if only for a night).

[Anonymous No.7375428]

How do you get involved with a maid cafe-type setup? I'm thinking of one at a con but any general tips would also help.

[Anonymous No.7375431]

>>7374737
Japanese maid cafes:

>Quality of costumes
Probably a little better than Bodyline quality. Each maid had the same costume but customized (ie bigger or different color petticoat, pins, different hair accessories)

>Attractiveness of employees
All very cute

>Quality of food/drink
Mediocre at best. You're not going there for the food

>Variety of food/drink
Not much. Curry rice, omurice, chicken nuggers, cake, a couple fruity drinks & soda

>General atmosphere
Full of awkward otaku men, need I say more

[Anonymous No.7375435]

>>7374691
I'd recommend checking with your local con and seeing if you could arrange for a temporary maid café to be a part of it and give it a test run. Assuming you're in the west, I can't see how you'd fare with normie crowd.

[Anonymous No.7375438]

I've been to one called Royal T in the LA area. I think it's closed now but it was alright from what I remember, the girls were varied but their uniforms looked kinda on the cheapside. But the food wasn't that bad. It was more novelty than anything but it was nice to try something different. Kinda wishing I went again before it closed. There aren't very many good places for tea where I live.

[Funk Brothers !!sEQILr75Rya No.7375465]

What's the maid cafe like at SpringFestNY? I'm going to their maid cafe during the con next month. From the pictures I saw last year, the maid cafe looks organized and uniformed.

Imo, maid cafes in the US aren't economically feasible in the long term. When I went to Japan last year, I avoided the generic maid cafes in Akihabara and went to Schatzkiste. It was a really cool maid cafe that's off the beaten path. The maids are dressed in longer black & white skirts and the food is really good. It felt like walking into a parlour room from the Victorian era.

Pic related, the booklet I bought at Schatziste for ¥300.

[Anonymous No.7375523]

>>7375427
I do know some of them lack the resources and skills.

>>7375428
what ever convention your thinking of setting up at, just send an email to let them know and ask them if its possible. what are the rules and regulations. from numerous maid threads a lot of people want to do them but cons vary some are for and some are against it, a lot of planning is need it.

[Anonymous No.7375570]

I like Anime Milwaukee's maid cafe.
>pastries are all from a local company just a few blocks from the hotel
>everyone was fun and happy
>sunday was crossdressing day, and lots of the guys were doing it and were hot
>no maid or butler I got had that stupid forced "cutesy" personality, they were just kinda like very friendly waiters/waitresses

[Anonymous No.7375602]

My uni (Temple U.) has this maid cafe that's basically a gathering of weebs and neckbeards. The Valentine's Day event wasn't great-- the menu was just low-tier sweets, a salad, and a sad sandwich. Everything was bought last minute. The maids and butlers weren't outfit coordinated. The dances were basically a display of the head maid's attention whoring. There were some maids and butlers (mostly butlers) that were good, but it seemed like they let anyone be one.

The only reason they ran for three semesters so far is because of their pushy fatty-chan head maid. She's not a good leader at all since she just emphasizes dance practice and let logistics get away from her. I feel sorry for the maids since I know some of them and it's not their fault that it's so bad.

[indie anon !!gduXTuPrAo+ No.7375682]

>>7375570
Yeah, everyone is super nice although lines to and from the elevator is hellish. Everyone might not be the best looking but their attitude and the view from the top of the hotel at the Polaris is wonderful. /biased since I volunteered this year in the back

[Anonymous No.7375703]

Would someone be able to make decent money doing this type of thing if they were good looking and understood good service?

[Anonymous No.7375708]

>>7375602
Temple Texas?

[Anonymous No.7375709]

>>7375682
Yeah but that's not the cafe's fault that they can't use the stairs.

[Anonymous No.7375710]

>>7375708
Nah, Philly.

[Anonymous No.7375711]

>>7375710
Damn, just moved from Philly. I was so excited for a minute. Well, I hope the 2 ft of snow will melt for you soon anon.

[Anonymous No.7375719]

>>7375711
Thanks! It's not so bad out here, well aside from ice and my cold burning face. If you come back for a visit, be assured that this cafe's not dying anytime soon as long as head maid is still alive!

[Anonymous No.7375723]

>>7375719
Oh it sounds fabulous

[Anonymous No.7375792]

If I were to ever start a Maid Cafe in the United States... it would serve southern styled food; sandwiches and then 1 or 2 daily entrees that would I would rotate weekly; also make it a point to hire a baker or dessert chef.

The uniform would have tights during fall/winter and allow thigh highs during the summer. Skirts would be modest but wouldn't cover the knees. No cleavage. Maid dresses could vary but shoes, tights, thigh highs and accessories would be the same. If someone doesn't want to wear a face full of makeup that's okay. Mascara and lip tint can go a long way. However, hair would requires to be styled nicely at all times. Nude, pink, beige, red, and traditional manicures would be only nail polish colors to be worn; make up would always fall into good taste or a natural look.

Instead of a hostess, it would employ a host as cashier. A nicely dressed, groomed man, it'd be more of a nice suit, minus the bow tie, black or grey. Hair would be either kept short or if long, styled to the same standards as the girl's.

The decoration would use rich color tones, dark wood, and old American motifs, not really a plantation sense though; think more like if an oil baron or star back in the day up north had a restaurant in his/her mansion. Male bathrooms would be simple (yet clean) while female bathrooms would include a 'powder room' with a mirror and seating.

[Anonymous No.7375821]

I've always dreamed of starting up a maid cafe but getting a diploma in business management first so I can know wtf I'm doing. I love anon's idea of having the maid thing be a weekend only event though as it would make more sense to cater to as many types as possible.

I'd go the cutesy but professional/hipster look since that seems to be going over really well in my city at the moment. Start it out as just a coffee/cake shop with the girls all in the same uniform but different colours - provide some magazines including j-mags for customers to either read while eating or buy since nowhere seems to do the jfashion ones here. Offer photos and etc. for $5 or something cheap for novelty your maid will sign - obviously no photography or outside food allowed. *sigh* dreams eh?

There's a perfect place for it near a bunch of other cute asian based and comic/manga shops too that goes up for sale every six months as people keep flopping their business ideas.

[Anonymous No.7375828]

>>7375465
SpringFestNY cafe member here. We're called Starlight Garden btw. Last year was our first year, and it went pretty well despite some hiccups. This year is going to be a hell of a lot better - smoother serving, fantastic food, and some really fun performances are all in the pipeline. Everyone's working really hard and I hope you can have fun with us!

[Anonymous No.7375829]

>>7374526
Yeah, what I hate is the obvious facade when I go out to eat but when I see some genuine keen staff I go back there twice. Shit staff you never see me again unless the food is fast/cheap/nice then I dont care as much. But even a fast food restaurant can achieve this.

[Anonymous No.7375851]

Is it considered poor taste to have menu items that need microwaving? (ie muffins and scones) or must they all be served in a way that they be tasteful as is?

I work in a McCafe and think about inspiring some of the things that sell to the customers or is it better to be more Japanese themed?

Also winter menu? how do these sound?
> toasted sandwiches
> soup

Originally my business idea was to make it more like an old fashioned milk bar and specialise mostly in drinks like smoothies, thick shakes, coffee, tea, iced tea. But I'm gathering from some opinions foods more important

My goal is to get a physical cafe going, not a con deal. (tho I plan to expand to hosting a con maid cafe once the brick and mortar goes well kind of like how McDonalds and Dominos or whatever have those portable services for carnivals and events sometimes)

[Anonymous No.7375855]

>>7375465
Could I have your opinion on why they wouldn't be feasible long term?

I'm serious on making a cafe happen though I'm not in the USA (Australia if its important)

[Anonymous No.7375858]

>>7375703
Yes provided your area has room for more niche cafes and it doesn't scare normies into thinking its not family friendly.

Make it family friendly (so make it more like it was hosted by Disney than Madman) with longer dresses and no cleavage and have normal friendly personalities and people will literally just take it as a fun themed evening out.

[Anonymous No.7375861]

>>7375855
Where in Australia? I'd love to get in on that

[Anonymous No.7375863]

>>7375861
S-E Queensland

Somewhere in the Metro area I'm aiming for. Most likely Gold Coast. Its already a city that's enthusiastic on Japanese culture with karaoke bars, sushi restaurants and what not, I believe it'd outlast there more than anywhere else.

[Anonymous No.7375870]

>>7375863
Oh snap anon, I'm planning on opening a Maid Cafe down in Sydney.

[Anonymous No.7375871]

>>7375863
Drat I'm in Bris. It would depend on what market you're aiming for. The japanese tourists are there yes but are they the kind they would fly all the way to Australia to experience a maid cafe?

If you're aiming for the weeb/anime crowd Brisbane (imo) is a better bet. People from the GC flocked to Brisbane for the initial supanova here but hardly anyone I know from either sydney or Brisbane has gone to the GC one. You've also got the recent bodyline picnic where hardly anyone showed up based on 'it's on the goldcoast' and too far away'.

I'm biased though but that's my 2cents on it.

[Anonymous No.7375884]

>>7375855
One thing I'll say, as someone who's worked in the hospitality industry a fair bit along with most of my friends and family; it's important to remember you're aren't running a 'maid cafe' so much as a 'cafe that is staffed by maids'.

It might sound like a pedantic distinction, but it's important; as a hospo, first and foremost your job is customer service. Outside of Japan, if you want to run a business, you CAN'T survive marketing on something as niche as 'Kawaii' aesthetics; we simply don't have the business for it, and I'm speaking as someone who's lived in both Aus and NZ.

Make a cafe, and be a cafe, and when you have that down THEN add the maid elements. Otherwise you'll be left with a narrow audience and mediocre food, with a few people coming in once for the novel experience and having no reason to return, and the rest just avoiding it entirely.

[Anonymous No.7375891]

>>7375870
You go girl!


>>7375871
Well you can say the same for the kareoke bars and sushi places couldn't we? I think the Japanese stuff isn't for the Japanese tourists, but for the locals instead. Japanese tourists I reckon are more into the theme parks and beaches.
Maybe some otaku from Japan may want to try a gaijin cafe (which I would do anything not to disappoint them)

But good point about Supanova and the BL picnic. Definitely will take it to stronger consideration now.

I'm really happy to hear outside opinions, I encourage it. Its daunting to get a loan to start something like this let alone making sure you profit enough to pay it back and actually make a profit from yourself, again. I can't take it lightly

[Anonymous No.7375901]

>>7375884
This is so right!
Like even I find the idea of " maid cafe " a little awkward because I just don't wanna get down as management of a kinky cafe. Its not my style? A aesthetic and fun cafe definitely. I'm a lolita and to incorporate in the business the silhouette and keeping it classy is exactly what's in my vision.

I have it in a mind it being a place a lolita would feel comfortable going to meet up, but also a family would come visit at the same time. If I weren't doing cafe with maids I'd be doing an old fashioned theme anyway. Which I'll fall back on if the maid idea doesn't work out.

[Anonymous No.7375904]

>>7375901
To add I would have maids that are just regular (but welcoming) wait staff and not select personalities or someone who is there to entertain. I'd hope the atmosphere would take care of that. I admit when a employee somewhere I go gets too personal I get a little bit uncomfortable (could just be me and the minority)

[Anonymous No.7375912]

>>7375891
True but the sushi and karaoke is more socially acceptable in japan then a maid cafe and if it's for locals..well we have those things here too just not as concentrated in the same area.

>>7375884
I think anon here has a good grip on what needs to be done too - It's better to view it as a 'cafe' first and a 'kawaii maid cafe' second, profits, service and food quality come first. However I think you could start very easily as a maid cafe though - I mean why not? If the idea is to start as a maid cafe and get a particular audience why isolate loyal customers who would be shocked to walk in a week later and find it a maid cafe? To me it seems strange to cater to one audience when your intent is to become something else - especially when changing the decor and menu are costly to do and you're hoping to make profit on the niche on top of the food - that unique and one of a kind experience is what you're banking on to draw customers to you in the first place and then get them to keep coming back with excellent food and service.

[Anonymous No.7375920]

>>7375792
some suggestions.
>look up the demographics of the area you want to set up shop and decide if it in the right income neighbor hood.
>if you really want to make your menu rotatable find out what is seasonal in your area and for baking hired a scratch baker someone good at making bake good off the top of their head.
overall seems likes a good concept

>>7375821
go for the business management but you can take some community class they seem to be all the same.
>the coffee/ cake shop would be good. the photos...I think a calendar would be best maybe have their favorite maid sign.
but their could be more planning in it but that seems like a premium area.
>>7375829
that's actually how businesses get their profit, is through returning customer, not new customers. having a good staff will ensure that your customers are satisfied and genuinely respected. some places aren't really good at training staff to realize that it really hurt them.

>>7375851
in the culinary world microwaving is quite poor really low of quality but for the usual case in speed.
you have the right mind set of a winter menu item, going with items that are hot and warm.
>you have to think deeper when it comes to food to like what do people prefer in your county, city, region or ect. negative or positive experiences like grandmas go old fashion stew.
>remember that seasons will affect your profit like on smoothies, shakes, cold items in winter.

also to be set in brick and mortar takes time and fairly difficult for any restaurant. Mc Ds and dominos are set in stone because of brand recognition, history of knowing their customers, and many more business choices.

its pretty much take a lot of money to make a small profit.

>remember if your seriously considering these ideas make a business plan

To be Continued

[Anonymous No.7375924]

>>7374697
this

every western butler cafe has had a) buttfuck ugly guys b) hambeasts or below average girls trying to pose as guys

fuck no, gimme the hot dudes. swallowtail and other jp-based butler cafes (the names escape me right now) still exist because they has /some/ standards (even if i don't like all the guys that staff the places, their quality control is pretty decent)

[Anonymous No.7375926]

>>7375924

Swallowtail also has high quality food going for it, but yeah, good point.

[Anonymous No.7375931]

>>7375920
anyone who really want to consider open up there own maid or non café. heres a basic business template

page 1> business name and ownership and location

page 2>table of contents

page 3> executive statement: think of it as conversation or a light chat. whats your concept? whats your service/product? who will be your customers? what do you want to accomplish? what is the unique position of your business? what does your future with this business look like?
make it professional and exciting

page 4>concept statement: what type of organization are you? Sole owner, partnership, corp, or LLC. Whats your mission statement? restaurant concept, design, service type and style, be as artistic as you can be so you can get people to see what your trying to realize. menu and pricing. what type of food and is it for low, middle, high income.
page 5> marketing plan.now here comes the heavy research. remember product/service/menu, place/ location, prices, and positioning. or another one is strengths, weakness, opportunity, and threats.

>followed by value proposition and competitive advantage. What do you offer your clients that provides value? Remember, value does not equal price. Also remember, clients are buying benefits/an experience, not just food. describe your competitive advantage. What do you do or offer to your customers that make you stand out from the competition?

>target market
who are you going after? what age range? what social class? Demographics at a whole your area to the competition who sell same thing but different concept in your area.

>competition direct and indirect. restaurants that sell the same cuisine or style. indirect grocery stores, snack places, cafes.
>what barriers will you face in your operation? how will you over come these barriers and progress. how will they affect your company?
I.E high production cost, training, staff availability. etc

[Anonymous No.7375937]

>>7375931
Thank you anon I've been trying to come up with a business template/plan thing for a while but online stuff just starts with a lot of 'here lemme bog you down with research' and I get hampered down by finding demographics and other such infor, this is very helpfull! Saved

[Anonymous No.7375940]

>>7375931
>Promotion and Pricing
How will you get the word out to customers?
Advertising: What media, why, and how often? Why this mix and not some other? How will you identifiy yourself.

Explain your method of setting menu prices.
does your pricing strategy fit with what was revealed in your competitive analysis?
Compare your prices with those of the competition. Are they higher, lower, the same? Why?

Page 9
>Financials: now research the place your open at what is the starting funds? cost of running said business? your profit and losses? your break even analysis and projection? micro-economics basically.

page 10
>appendices
all the research including detailed documents, resources, and studies used in your business plan.

[Anonymous No.7375941]

>>7375427
I'm a classically trained Chef with a good amount of experience under my belt. Now, I'm a private caterer and Personal Chef.

I know for a fact that normal patrons would still come if the food was well above average. The maid costume would just be the gimmick. Of course, there should be specific nights geared towards the 'Otaku' type. Perhaps have special booths/rooms in which they can reserve and do different fun activities with the maid of their choice. Video games, Karaoke, board games.

[Anonymous No.7375943]

>>7375937
your welcome and good luck with your business plan and research.

[Anonymous No.7375945]

>>7375941
Now that's great idea your catering to both parties with out alienating the other

[Anonymous No.7375949]

>>7375945
Thank you. I've played around with the idea of opening a quaint little cafe. I had several thoughts, perhaps do a game cafe that has stellar food and some great board games. People could rent rooms by the hour and in the front of the house it would be a relatively normal cafe. But, I also wanted a 'gimmick' to it and thought about people dressing as different characters.

I like the idea of maid costumes. Perhaps in Navy and white with gold accents and not the standard black/white (something tailor-made of course). I even played around with the idea of elves or cat girls as well.

Perhaps do a breakfast and lunch. Then close after 4 to prep for the evening rush/dinner crowd (6pm) and do some after hours.

[Anonymous No.7375983]

In Germany we have seen quite a few maidcafe come and go. But only one has been able to preserve so far.

What surprises me more though, is that they were able to establish a host club at this convention as well and they found actually many handsome boys to join. I also like their uniforms a lot.

[Anonymous No.7375994]

>>7374469
Agreed. I've noticed that most of the maids that participate in the cons I've been to, such as Fanime, are typically introverted and awkward girls who don't believe in makeup. Makes me wonder if this is their only outlet to feel attractive, despite the role being out of their comfort zone.

[Funk Brothers !!sEQILr75Rya No.7376196]

>>7375855
The current market can't support a maid cafe long term in the United States. If you remember in 2012 that a maid cafe closed after only 4 months of business in Detroit.

A more recent maid cafe opened in Chinatown in Manhattan back in August of last year. I'm hoping it will survive the first year in business.

You don't see maid cafes popping up everywhere in the United States. I can see them be successful in large population centers such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where there are a large number of Otakus with disposable income now and in the future. Outside of that, it's not economically viable currently. If you want to open a maid cafe, it should be located in areas where Otakus congregate. Chinatown in Manhattan is a terrific example. Otakus go there to drink bubble, eat delicious Asian food, and sometimes go to the bastardization that is neo-Chinatown Fair. Same with St. Mark's Place with a close proximity to Video Games New York, Just Sweet, Ippudo, and tea houses. Maid cafes are successful in Akihabara because that's where the Otakus congregate. Opening a maid cafe in Shinjuku in Harajuku is not wise economically and it would be similar to opening one in Midtown or the UWS in New York.

If a maid cafe ever opened in my city of Columbus, the business owner(s) would need to open one around the Kenny-Henderson Rd area as there are a number of successful Asian and Japanese establishments.

I do think maid cafes will be firmly established here in the United States. Just not right now and not on the same scale as Akihabara.

[Anonymous No.7376222]

>>7376196
>If you remember in 2012 that a maid cafe closed after only 4 months of business in Detroit.

Have you actually bothered to check out the photos of that maid cafe stuff?
Well, to put it mildly, you momma was slimmer. Niches within niches within niches...

[Anonymous No.7376229]

I think one of the biggest things that kills maid cafes is hiring fat/ugly staff.
Like really, the entire point of the cafe is for the aesthetic.
Or like that other Anon said, having friendly staff can save it if their face isn't up to par, but looks are a big part of it.

Is it legal to discriminate based on looks? I know Hooters used to do that but I think they were forced to change..?

[Anonymous No.7376239]

>>7376229
you don't have to tell someone why you really didn't hire them. just say "Thank you for your interest in our company! we regret to inform you that we have declined your application; (insert sugar-coated white lie here)."

eventually it just becomes understood that the restraunt hires those with a certain level of attentiveness, but without needing to state it.

[Anonymous No.7376241]

>>7376239
certain level of attractiveness*

god damn phones.

[Anonymous No.7376247]

>>7376229
I'm going to say yes it is legal based on the amount of attention Disney pays to finding specific features. The movie business as a whole discriminates on looks.

I think it would be akin to hiring an actor in this case.

[Anonymous No.7376262]

>>7376229
I think you have to hire them as entertainers instead of waitstaff.

[Anonymous No.7376265]

>>7376229
i think Hooter's get away with it by claiming they are hiring models, not waitresses

[Anonymous No.7376276]

>>7375394
The uniforms are quite simple though but the appearance of the interior is just fab.

[Anonymous No.7376382]

>>7374491
if anyone wants to start a maid cafe, this so much.

why don't you start one anon?

[Anonymous No.7376575]

>>7374465
>How does /cgl/ feel about maid and butler cafes?
Terrible idea when applied to the west because only weebs and nerds care about these things, so it is not profitable, and only nerds apply to fill the maid/butler ranks, so it's an awkward service for awkward clients.
>Have you ever gone to one?
Yes, I did, two years ago in a local con, it was a stand actually. They served in non-uniform costumes, so some girls looked OK and some not so. There was one early 20s pretty girl and the rest were overwheight teenagers and a single boy who could not be more out of place. All worked really hard and looked exhausted. They served chinese and japanese food and tea. It was horrible, of course, because it was reduced to undercoocked noodles, rice and sushi. I felt really bad for them because obviously they had good intentions, but the execution was poor to say the least.

[Anonymous No.7376592]

>>7374465
I was just at a small con in my area (anime apocalypse) and they had a maid cafe there. Kicker was, there was one guy on staff and they let him wear the dress. He was super cute and a majority of people thought it was funny.
You'll always get those people who walk away from the cafe as soon as they see him though.

[Anonymous No.7376828]

>>7376382
any concept business requires a large fortune to make a small profit a lot a risk, there are a lot of factors that make them unsuccessful and I have yet to see any maid cafes with business in mind. im going to say its going to be good 150-200k to get It designed, remodeled, staffed, and prepared. location price variable. again when I see maid cafes its usual young adults who seem to pool money together, or someone has a small fortune.

>>7376575
terrible if you do the same stuff that japan does by making cutesy and stuff. you want to make sure you don't alienate both clienteles. you make profit through repeat customers. how you get them is through good food, great staff, and a positive experience.
every maid café
>low to average quality food
>no training, very poor social skills, no customer service
>an overall experience poor
not really trying to set themselves up for success to begin with.

>con maids should be better since is 1-4day business operation but again I don't know what there thinking or planning except for the lack of trying. I do know the cons have some rules so certain foods cant be brought in or made.

[Anonymous No.7380786]

>>7376229
There are already lots of places that hire based on looks.
The trick is that they are not hiring for 'waitresses' or 'cashiers', they are hiring 'floor models' and such. It's all in the wording, but you can do it.

[Anonymous No.7380804]

There was (or still is, I don't know) a maid cafe in my city and... It's actually not bad.
The boys are your average emo bishiez and girls are genuinely attractive for the most part. Their promo videos are well thought out and they have theme nights. Nothing too spectacular, but pretty nice considering it's a shitty country in Eastern Europe.
It's managed by this kinda gay looking dude who also owns a dance studio so they also have routines and stuff.

[Anonymous No.7380856]

Only been to one maid cafe at a con and it was okay. Would have been better had there been actual food there. There was at least a few decently cute girls there.
Only worth it if thin cute girls are working there really.

I would only ever consider going to a butler cafe, and it'd only be worth it, if it had cute men working there, or girls that could actually pass as cute guys. Chunky to fat chicks dressed as guys, girls that just look like girls in a short wig, and girls that make ugly or pathetic looking guys are not wanted.

[Anonymous No.7380858]

>>7374547
Maid cafe's need something like Chinese Cafes. Like Deer Garden or even cattle cafe.

I go to those places all the time because while they have an assortment of things, their best and most popular thing is the custom soups where you just check off your base, noodles, 2 topping of your choice+the ones it comes with and a drink for about $10

and the bowls are giant

[Anonymous No.7380864]

>>7375851
Yes, it says lazy and cheap like no other. It says you have no pride in what you're serving.

You don't need to serve anything super fancy, but it should be nice enough that people will want to go, and the food should be quality and something you would pay for yourself and serve with pride.

Microwaved foods taste like shit. It doesn't take that much effort to make some decent pastries, tasty sandwhiches, and good soups.

[Anonymous No.7381011]

>>7375870
Please do!

[Anonymous No.7381039]

>>7374698
>>7374686
>>Good food is a must, though

All you people talking about 'good food' don't seem to be accounting that these cafes usually spring up at small scale cons.
Hot food is a no-go for small venues and so it has to be just cakes and tea, and anything high quality just leads to minus profits.

Meals can't come up to more than $7 at most for cafes to attract enough cheap weebs to break even.

[Anonymous No.7381059]

>>7380864
As someone who has worked in restaurants I would just like to say you would be surprised how much is microwaved. I am not talking fast food, either.
If you want to warm up a nice scone in the microwave I don't think it will be that bad.

[Anonymous No.7381079]

>>7380856
omg those butlers I would have them all

[Anonymous No.7381082]

>>7380804
links to vid or site?

>>7375983
nice

[Anonymous No.7381188]

>>7375570
idk I thought it was okay, but we didn't really get great service (our butler was switched halfway through because his shift was ending, which was weird. and then we didn't actually get a different butler, ours just... left...) and I felt like there wasn't enough variety in the food. You could either get enough soft serve ice cream to make you puke or cupcakes. I wish there had been something slightly more substantial, even if it was a shitty sandwich.

[Anonymous No.7381257]

>>7381039
yeah, especially if the con is in a hotel theres usually strict rules about food.
also am i in the minority for liking female cross dressing butlers the best? all the dudes i've seen advertising for host or butler cafes at a con have been kind of unkept and creepy looking and a lot of maids to that cutsey moe moe act really badly enough to make me embarrassed. At least with a female butler i wouldn't be paid to be creeped on or (hopefully not) embarrassed the whole time.

[Anonymous No.7381285]

i just browsed for maid cafes in my area and then nope'd the fuck outta there

[Anonymous No.7381297]

>>7381257

I guess that's just the pool that they'd be dipping from. Squee-y weeaboo girls, creepy neckbeard guys, and for female butlers, badly enacted broments and just as much autism to be found.

I don't think you can really win with these cafes. You can find one to two decent to very good servers in any of them, but you're not going to get a majority in these anime convention things.

[Anonymous No.7381301]

>>7380858
Ah yes, if it's a Japanese-based maid cafe, soup/noodles would be a really good option.

[Anonymous No.7381305]

>>7381039
We're not talking about shitty con cafes. We're talking about having an actual year-round business with a permanent location.
At conventions, as annoying as it is, I can get why they have crappy "food."
But if someone were to open a full cafe, food is a huge component of it.

[Anonymous No.7381352]

>>7375394
Classy, you mean classy. The typical maid uniform in countries like Austria and Britain are like >>7376276. Not cute at all, but very smart and shows that the place is quite high end.
I wish we got cutesy maids...

[Anonymous No.7381369]

>>7375851
Microwaving scones?
Do you actually like the texture of rubber in your mouth?
I used to try to microwave scones when I was younger. Once enough of them ended up in the bin I learned that the overn is the only way to heat heat them up (well, some people use a grill or a toaster but ymmv)

[Anonymous No.7381388]

>>7381369
Sorry, I read the microwave bit and immediately raged. I should have read the rest of the post and typed a more thought out reply before posting...
Having good drinks is always a good idea as they can be a large part of a cafe's revenue (I think anyway) so it's good you've got that part planned at least.
I'd say cons are better as it seems that physical maid cafes close down pretty since they're not really the kind of thing normal people go to. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned about making a normal cafe that had the maid dealie at weekends and stuff so if you want a physical cafe I'd say that's a more viable option to make sure you stay open.
The portable service is actually quite a cool idea but could prove quite hard because of weather so you'd have to always have indoor venues to make sure your maids didn't get frozen and rained which would kind of defeat the point of having a portable service. I'm assuming here that by 'portable service' you mean like a van cafe, but if it's just taking the food and maids to an event then it would work the same way as con maid cafes do so then you might as well just start out the cafe by taking it to cons.
I hope that you eventually work something out and that it works out for you anyway, but for the love of God, DO NOT MICROWAVE SCONES!

[Anonymous No.7386693]

is the fanimaid cafe any good? I want to go every year but either the lines too long or im busy at panels

[Anonymous No.7386711]

>>7381285
That's the pathetic one that opened in Chinatown last summer. They serve with styrofoam plates and plastic utensils, the uniforms are cheap pink and white lace monsters, the majority of the maids are middle-aged tired-looking Chinese and Japanese women putting on a fake cute act that can't even be called "moe," the owners treat their event cafe girls upstairs like utter shit and won't even give them proper uniforms, and they still want to act like they're better than the 3 or 4 convention cafes in the city that have been around longer than their asses. Don't bother.

[Anonymous No.7386765]

>>7375891
Google "shibuya butler cafe"

Seems ~*dreamy*~ but is awkward as fuck

[Anonymous No.7386774]

>>7386765
Tbh it looks awkward.

[Anonymous No.7386787]

>>7386765
If you read the customer reviews, it's awkward as hell. Staff are treated like shit which is why they're always posting on CL for new recruits

[Anonymous No.7386793]

>>7381257
yes there are rules, but that depends on whether or not your willing to work with them. personal experience when their is an no open flame rule you use induction burners. when their is food and sanitation issue all it really requires is you set up a sanitary space as temp kitchen have a servsafe license and your ready to go. if you don't want to set it up at the location rent a production kitchen make said items for the even a day or two days before so their fresh and ready to go. if there is a strict food rule list all the food that are on that list create something that isn't on that list.
>no effort into trying also requires moneys

[Anonymous No.7386803]

>>7381369
>>7381388

I dunno, our customers normally ask to have them microwaved so they're warm, and I have them like that too and the inside is normally fluffy like it were just baked sort of thing. When oven baked they dry out, the microwave works for us because its heating up water/moisture trapped inside the bread hence why its fluffy and steams inside once you cut it open.
Maybe your scone formulas are different where we are haha. If anyone asked to have them oven warmed in an oven instead I wouldnt oblige, maybe we just enjoy our scones differently!

But yes, drinks are normally the highest in profit margin since a lot of them are flavouring + water or flavouring + milk.. People still pay $2+AUD for tea for some reason, and its just hot water plus a $2.50 a 10 pack of green tea from Woolworths down the road you know?
I'd serve much higher quality tea though, but still.

I would definitely make "maids" just a interesting perk, and not the main focus though definitely.

Thank you for your response though, angered or not!

[Anonymous No.7386819]

>>7386803
*would oblige

>am i still using this word wrong

[Anonymous No.7386822]

>>7381039
well I understand not doing hot foods just because of the sake of quality and temp. having someone who knows culinary and business will help with the profits when it comes down to food production cost. some restaurants have recipes cost out so if you make that said item theirs profit coming off of it going out already. you could make a course menu and still make profit off it if you know what you're doing. again cheap weebs aren't going to pay $10 bucks for sandwich your mom could have made and some tea in bag.
>that was from a personal experience at small con and they called it a victorian style tea party, was a huge mistake.
>no research at all
> just party supplies all over the place

you also have to show them a good product to get them to spend, and if their experience is ruined once they wont come again.

so I feel if you do a maid café at a con you either go big or go home.