We have dreamed of living in the Dominican Republic for years and have been saving money for that reason. We are quickly approaching what we believe is our financial goal to move. I am extremely nervous but would love to be my own boss. We were looking for opinions on a small coffee shop in the Punta Cana area. I also would like to know more information on what is required to start a small business. As in business licenses, fees, and etc. We really want to start getting our ducks in a row and information on this website in great. Thank you for any positive help.
- Thread starter Jhw349
- Start date
Starting a small coffee shop business?
Starting a business here can be a nightmare of unintended consequences, more so for a newly arrived foreigner. I'd recommend that you live here at least a full six months in the DR before you decide that you really want to do it.
Also, please don't be offended as I say this with the intention to help, but a small coffee shop will probably not yield enough to sustain both of you. There is already a good amount of competition with Las Le?as and New York Bakery here in Bavaro.
Also, please don't be offended as I say this with the intention to help, but a small coffee shop will probably not yield enough to sustain both of you. There is already a good amount of competition with Las Le?as and New York Bakery here in Bavaro.
In addition to the advice posted above, the market is already quite crowded: in addition to Las Le?as (Friusa) and NY Bakery (Los Corales) there is also Las Dalias near Coco Loco, the new "Starbucks" place in Plaza Paseo San Juan and Brot in Punta Cana Village. There was a particularly good coffee shop in Centro Comercial Las Canas (Cap Cana) which closed a couple of months ago. You would have to find a USP and a very strategic location for it to have any chance of taking off.
I agree totally with Trangalanga.
Come here and life for 6 months before you decide what you want to do.
Question: Are you opening the coffee shop because you need the money or because you want something to do? If it's because you need the money to support yourself, then you're probably not going to be in good shape. If it is because you want something to do, then find a niche that will allow your shop to be self-sustaining rather than a drain of resources.
Want to know what I think this place needs? A good Jamaican jerk food stand is really lacking here. Unfortunately, Dominicans are not very adventurous when it come to food, especially if it involves spice.
At any rate, come down, find a place to live (rent for 6 months), look around for good business locations, find a niche that isn't being filled, and come up with a good business plan. By then, you will also have learned a little bit of the fun that is known as Dominican bureaucracy. I might add that there are other threads on here about business licences, etc. The search feature is at the top right hand of the thread page.
Good luck, and please keep us posted. Especially if you go with Jamaican jerk, because I will drive to Punta Cana just for that.
Come here and life for 6 months before you decide what you want to do.
Question: Are you opening the coffee shop because you need the money or because you want something to do? If it's because you need the money to support yourself, then you're probably not going to be in good shape. If it is because you want something to do, then find a niche that will allow your shop to be self-sustaining rather than a drain of resources.
Want to know what I think this place needs? A good Jamaican jerk food stand is really lacking here. Unfortunately, Dominicans are not very adventurous when it come to food, especially if it involves spice.
At any rate, come down, find a place to live (rent for 6 months), look around for good business locations, find a niche that isn't being filled, and come up with a good business plan. By then, you will also have learned a little bit of the fun that is known as Dominican bureaucracy. I might add that there are other threads on here about business licences, etc. The search feature is at the top right hand of the thread page.
Good luck, and please keep us posted. Especially if you go with Jamaican jerk, because I will drive to Punta Cana just for that.
Sigue so?ando
That's good.
In these days of crisis the country needs investments like this... you(r money is) are most welcome. :bunny:
donP
That's good.
In these days of crisis the country needs investments like this... you(r money is) are most welcome. :bunny:
donP
You might have more success in a city like San Francisco de Macoris or Santiago or La Vega. In the central area where store employees and store owners can gather over coffee. There used to be on in Santiago on 30 de marzo, next to the old Cine Colon and across the street from the Hotel Mercedes and La Epoca...no longer...and there is a need, if you can find the space.
Don't sweat the details. You need to follow the advice given freely here in order not to lose your dream. Forget living off of tourists, and think about being part of a community.
HB
Don't sweat the details. You need to follow the advice given freely here in order not to lose your dream. Forget living off of tourists, and think about being part of a community.
HB
puryear, if you and your buddies promise to come on down, i will look into setting up a jerk stand. it will also sell jamaican beef patties, oxtails, curry goat, and roti. if you have never had a roti, you have not lived. seriously, though, a jerk stand would do well, if only because so many foreigners are familiar with it.
You can forgo the oxtails on my account, and I'm always willing to try any food once, so I will try roti. Last time I was in Jamaica, I had jerked lobster: WOW!!!!!
I'm curious as to how you are going to market bammy here, given that Dominicans are familiar with it (cassava) but not necessarily as a side dish and not warmed.
And by any chance do you know where I can find Pickapeppa Sauce here in the DR? I brought a bottle of spicy mango back the last time I was in Jamaica, and all my Dominican friends went absolutely nuts over it. (I have adventurous friends.)
If you set up a jerk stand, I will definitely be there.
I'm curious as to how you are going to market bammy here, given that Dominicans are familiar with it (cassava) but not necessarily as a side dish and not warmed.
And by any chance do you know where I can find Pickapeppa Sauce here in the DR? I brought a bottle of spicy mango back the last time I was in Jamaica, and all my Dominican friends went absolutely nuts over it. (I have adventurous friends.)
If you set up a jerk stand, I will definitely be there.
Agree - another option may be a decent Starbucks type place (butwith real coffee) in the Zona Colonial.
Other threads though will tell you that 44% of the population are middle class - the market for skinny lattes must be huge!!
I did some research on roti. I had to stop because I was salivating on the computer. Damn, that sounds awesome, and the next time I go to Jamaica, I'm definitely looking for some.
you are giving me ideas. i have contacts with all the major producers in Jamaica, and i can get just about everything. the pepper sauce intrigues me, since the stuff here is pretty lousy. Dominicans would take to bammy, dome jamaican style, warm, and with salt fish, perhaps. a jamaican restaurant would do better than a coffee shop, because you would need to sell a zillion cups of coffee at 15 pesos to make any kind of money, and Dominicans are not going to pay 50 peso for a frappucino, on a regular basis. they would pay 120 peso for a mild jerk chicken, though. and much more for a jerk lobster.
if they can make it in Jamaica, i can make it right here. every bit as good as the stuff that has you drooling into the keyboard. i always dreamt of a roti shop in the colonial zone. it would clean up, for absolute sure.
Another vote for roti from this end.
However...
I think frappucinos are RD$150 at Brot in Punta Cana Village. I'll double-check this and confirm.
However...
I think frappucinos are RD$150 at Brot in Punta Cana Village. I'll double-check this and confirm.
Another vote for roti from this end.
However...
I think frappucinos are RD$150 at Brot in Punta Cana Village. I'll double-check this and confirm.
150 pesos? Holy Moses! as to roti, i am glad to hear that you like it, too. it is to die for, and so easy to prepare. guys have tried every type of restaurant , here. italian, french, greek, spanish, you name it. the resort areas are filled with them. nobody has tried something different, which will definitely be a hit....a real Caribbean restaurant. Jerk, Roti, Conch Chowder, curried shrimp, and lobster. reggae and calypso music in the background....you get the drift. it would kick ass, but everyone wants to open a restaurant that sells either spaghetti , or steak. boring!!!
Because everyone knows you can't survive only on the non-Dominicans. They also know that the Dominican palate won't tolerate even a dash of pepper, let alone jerk or curry spices.
There are exceptions - the clientele of both Balicana and Serai includes many Dominicans who love Asian food, including the spicy dishes. In any case, you can always offer it on a spiciness scale of 1-10, like they did at Serai. How do you explain all the Mexican restaurants that seem to do OK in the DR?
Not at all. There are several Tex-Mex as well as a couple of more authentic Mexican eateries in the capital and the east coast area and I assure you they do not serve rice and beans. You underestimate the existence of a small but affluent segment of the Dominican population that is as sophisticated and cosmopolitan as any other.