South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

what cafe in roache? and im not just talking about any old cafe though

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but its called TJ's cafe,its got a very good reputation and is bloody stunning in there, its down the road opposite the victoria inn and next to the skoda franchise. good quality grub at good prices and people travel from miles to go there. the guys from B & H (the harley specialists in roche) go there most days for their lunch. your saving grace is that its a traditional cafe thats open monday to friday all day and til 1 on a saturday.
i'd suggest doing a bit more research into the area before you set up shop as theres also a regular food wagon in the bp carpark that gets a lot of the truckers/passing business
good luck anyway as the idea sounds good and simailir to the one down at portreath,is that place still going ?

I don't think so, I work just up the road from Portreath and the only cafe I know of down there is the one on the beach ( good cup of tea and hot choccy's tho ), but I may just of missed it !

no offence but tj's isnt that well known. ive lived here for nearly 20 years and i dont know it. and as for more than a cafe, im aiming at ace cafe type project with a tuning shop and workshop, not a greasy spoon. ive done a lot of research into the area and thats not the same market at all. but cheers for the heads-up though. everything is worth a thought.

no worries,only trying to help you out and all my comments are meant to be helpful and from within the trade itself !! i guess tjs is only well known if you know about it but bear in mind im in st a and travel out there for a greasy spoon when i want one and know loads of people who are aware of it. have you researched the other workshops in the surrounding area and seen how well theyre doing or not as the case maybe ? how much is your budget to set this up as theres a local guy in padstow that started up 3 years ago and its cost him a fortune to set up. i genuinely wish you good luck in setting something like your plans set up as cornwall definetly needs somewhere similair to jaspers

badger,there used to be a local meet at porteath that met once or twice a month at the cafe thats near the little shopping place on the portreath to porthtowan road ?? in the winter they used to meet in a pub close to there

Cool, if I'm out and about down that way I'll try and see if any thing still goes on. I know they're still doing the Run wot You Brung at the airfield every now and again, so maybe I'll ask Kev at MY Motors if he knows!

Actually theres a point, Ben, if and when you get something more concrete get hold of Kev cos he does odd pieces for Streetfighter mag and he's involved in organising the Run at Portreath, so he might be good for some drag and streetbike displays at your cafe? Worth an ask anyway, he's a really aproachable guy .

that all sounds great guys. kev sounds like a good guy to start with.

the budget is nil. lol. i know this sounds daft, but im going to try to set it up as a clubhouse and then develop into a cafe and a tuning shop and then a workshop where people can work themselves and teach each other. i like the idea of a knowledge pool where people can come together and share experiance with each other. and, yes, i do know that maybe a little too idealistic to work. but a goal is a goal. its a fair way from anywhere at the moment though as the site i like is being appraised for the market and may go to sale rather than lease, which would hinder a budget of nil somewhat. still, there in the grace of God, and all that.

You will run into all manner of trouble from the Health and Safety brigade, if you intend to allow members of the public to work on their own bikes in there. Liability insurance will be hugely expensive if you can get it in the first place. There are all manner of legal issues to confront, if someone works on their bike and has an accident caused by what they've done on sombody elses advice, then you open yourself up to all manner of lawsuits. I spent several years teaching motorcycle engineering at college, Students were not permitted to work on their own machines, because of the legal ramifications of them doing something incorrectly.
There will also be issues with the very fact that you are letting unqualified people into the workshop area. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm for this idea, but there are some very real problems with what you propose.

yep, ive got a feeling it will be a nightmare, but im sure there will be a way of doing something. i've got a feeling if it is run as a private club then there are some exemptions and loopholes, but theres a long way to go. also, if it is private property and people sign some kind of contract. im not sure. but its a long way away and hopefully by then there will be some common sense systems in place. who knows. it may never happen. but it would be nice to be in a country where sharing knowledge and advice is a free resource rather than something for the health and safety commision to play with.

i remember running a big old hotel once, with victorian sash windonws, the health and safety people told us we had to stop all windows above the ground floor from opening more than 6 inches so people couldnt fall out. then the fire brigade told us if we did that they would not come to the hotel if there was a fire because they wouldnt be able to get anyone out. this went on for months. who do you listen too? in the end we told the health and safety people to go to hell as there was more risk of a fire killing more people without the fire brigade than one person falling out of a window. its a crazy world in the here and now.

but im an idealist so im going to try

See if Devon and Cornwall Police will run their Bike Safe outta ur cafe thats a good way of getting bikers and publicity and if its anything like the Ace then the police wont touch ur customers doing burnouts and wheelies cause they are using ur facilities

the unofficial verdict from officers ive spoken to is they love the idea. the institute of advanced motorists' members (the couple ive spoken to) like it. members of the jag e-type owners club, morgan owners club, mg owners, mr2 owners, integra owners all like the idea, in fact most people like it.

budget "nil" does make things difficult, but nothing is impossible, just harder. its only part of the modern world that says we must have loads of money. there's quite a lot of good will out there, and thats worth a lot on its own. i dont know if we'll ever get off the ground, but im going to try anyway.

with a nil budget how do you plan on getting tools,work benches,lifts,tyre machine etc as you'll need all of those things to convert people over otherwise its just as easy to take your bike to jp motorworks/vlm/bike tech services etc ? your idea sounds great in principle but im not sure that without cash and a customer/fan base behind you before you start that you'll succseed but its definetly worth trying and researching,unfortunately money talks especially if youve got lots of it
dont get me wrong as i'd love you to open and be successful with your ideas as it does sound good if not a little adventurous for a first time bike buisness

All businesses have to start somewhere, whether the budget is zero or a million. One thing is for sure, every owner had or has a dream of what their business will be. It's better to regret the things you have done than the things you haven't done.

Fiscally, times are more difficult at the moment which will work against you, but given the right niche everything can work and thats what business is all about, finding a niche. I personally love the idea of a place having a garage where everyone can share information. It'd be like Simon's garage but bigger

deej wrote:with a nil budget how do you plan on getting tools,work benches,lifts,tyre machine etc as you'll need all of those things to convert people over otherwise its just as easy to take your bike to jp motorworks/vlm/bike tech services etc ? your idea sounds great in principle but im not sure that without cash and a customer/fan base behind you before you start that you'll succseed but its definetly worth trying and researching,unfortunately money talks especially if youve got lots of it
dont get me wrong as i'd love you to open and be successful with your ideas as it does sound good if not a little adventurous for a first time bike buisness

Unfortunately there is some truth in there.

Without any capital how do you propose to even prepare the premises for use as a café? You have fixtures and fittings to consider, the cost of furnishing the place to a standard where people would actually want to come and eat is in it’s self huge. You then have the issues of installing a kitchen to meet the needs of the business and also to be health and safety compliant.

Take my word for it the cost of starting any business can be colossal, you will need a deposit on a leased premises to proceed with any agreement, as already mentioned the fitting out of the site to your specific use which may also require the relevant planning consent. You have business rates to pay (ratable value of site will dictate this and it can be bloody expensive), insurances both for public liability and employers liability, utilities, marketing and advertising etc etc etc……

I run a relatively small business and my operating costs are in excess of £140k per annum, that’s without the level of marketing and advertising I feel you need for the type of business you are proposing.

My advice would be to concentrate on one aspect of your idea, a decent petrolhead’s café seems to be the most logical, and this could later evolve to incorporate some of your other ideas. The thought of having members of the public working in a workshop environment within your business has smacks of disaster written all over it; if you feel that’s what you want to do then try it once you have an established business and can afford to take a little risk.

Route 38 at Trerulefoot roundabout between Plymouth and Liskeard seem to do it well, might be worth you checking it out. Their location is obviously key and easily accessible from both Devon and Cornwall. They also target a wide audience by not only appealing to petrolhead’s but also the general public by serving good food in a clean and friendly environment. This ensures they have steady trade throughout the week not just when the boys and their toys come out to play at the weekends.

You need a good business advisor, accountant and an understanding bank manager. At this stage you should be compiling a detailed business plan covering your ideas and intentions, your financial standing, detailed cash flow projections (almost a mock set of profit and loss accounts) and a five year and ten year plan. To get a business up and running with a bang you need to be selling the concept to people like the bank manager! These guys can make the difference early on between failure and success.

Sorry I didn’t mean to lecture I just wanted to offer advice; if you would like some direction then you could always message me and I will gladly offer you any help.

badger, the run what you brung is still held, twice a year i think too. one date this year was the same day as motogp donington i think the group ive talked about was called portreath riders or something similair