Why a Busy Café Can Still Lose Money | ERICA ESCALANTE!

A queue out the door doesn’t mean there’s money in the bank. Café consultant Erica Escalante joins Rohan and Ben to unpack why busy cafés can still struggle to pay the bills, and what owners can actually do about it.

From pricing your menu and selling more retail coffee to getting your team across the numbers, Erica shares lessons from nearly a decade running her own café and bakery business. We also get into burnout, better leadership and why loving coffee isn’t enough to run a healthy business. Somehow, the solutions involve colourful spreadsheets, puppets and taking ourselves a little less seriously.

If you’re new here, welcome! We get into the big debates, brilliant people and everyday chaos of the coffee world. There’s plenty to take seriously, but at the end of the day, it’s just coffee!

CHAPTERS!

00:00 Busy Doesn’t Always Mean Profitable

01:10 APAX LAB

02:02 Meet Erica Escalante

04:03 From Barista to Café Owner

06:27 Learning Your Costs the Hard Way

08:15 Is Your Café Actually Making Money?

11:25 Why Your Team Should Understand the Numbers

19:05 The Café’s Role in the Coffee Supply Chain