Seven good reasons to open a sandwich shop

( Taken from the book 'Starting Your Own Sandwich Shop' - Andrew Johnson )

The market is huge , and getting bigger

Since this is an article about establishing a business, you’ll have to forgive me for introducing a few statistics about the sandwich market, I am pretty sure you will find them interesting. Last year, the estimated number of sandwiches purchased in the UK approached 2500 million ! Impressed ? Considering the value of that market is currently £3500 million you certainly should be, it’s a big pie, and its getting bigger, as more people than ever turn to the humble sandwich. Its not hard to see why the purchased sandwich market is growing, people are busier than ever, its often a mission to prepare sandwiches at home to take to work.

Picture the scene :

Fifteen minutes before you leave for work, enough time to prepare a quick sandwich. Get the bread out, rummage in the fridge for the butter, and a tomato or two, look for your prize Red Leicester, oh dear, no cheese ? Some kind soul’s eaten the lot ? Put the butter back, reseal the bread bag …

Far easier to pop out at lunch time and grab a bite to eat, and the sandwich you buy will be more interesting than the plain cheese and tomato you had in mind anyway. This leads us nicely on to the next point. The sandwiches that a specialist shop can offer will be more interesting and exotic than the average person can be bothered to make at home. Just as importantly, most consumers can afford the cost of a sandwich, it’s a relatively painless purchase. Its important to note that the tastes of the sandwich buying public have become more sophisticated, people are willing to be more adventurous in their choice of fillings and breads. It’s a demand that a modern sandwich shop has to meet.

You can run a business and have a life

For me, one of the deciding factors in opening a sandwich shop was not having to work weekends. As it turned out, Saturday was a working day but Sunday wasn’t. Some shops operate a five day week, catering to office workers, others work six or even seven . My personal viewpoint is that if you can open a shop that trades for five days a week, then do so. The luxury of not working weekends can be a potential benefit of opening a sandwich shop in preference to another type of business. Another point to consider is that traditionally sandwich shops finish trading by around 3pm each day, couple this with an opening time of about 7.30 am and its easy to see that the working hours can be reasonable. Its fair to say that you can run a sandwich bar and have a life as well.

You can involve the family

Especially the teenage children, it’s a good way for them to get realistic work experience, and it helps ease your work load ! A sandwich shop offers opportunities for the whole family to help out, whether its assistance with a spot of book keeping, or a trip to the cash and carry.

A clean business

The average takeaway does not have pleasant working conditions, at least not for the staff working in the kitchen. Intensive cooking methods, such as deep fat frying, leads to a hot greasy environment, its not much fun. Sandwich bars, on the other hand, generally do very little cooking. A bit of baking, micro waving and possibly light grilling is about all. Its unlikely the smell of freshly baked baguettes will ever cause you to feel nauseous, no matter how often the aroma drifts past you. Compare that to working daily in a chippie, the smell of fried fish could definitely grate after a while, I know I wouldn’t like it.

Flexibility

A sandwich shop can do much more than just sell sandwiches to the lunch time trade. You are free to experiment with bagels, wraps, toasties, baked goods of every description, salads, organic foods, fresh fruit, yoghurts etc. You can add to, or change the menu at the drop of a hat. By purchasing a bake off oven, you could transform yourself into a mini bakery, and increase your menu almost overnight, by offering freshly baked confectionary delights. You could aim to develop a breakfast trade, tempting hungry workers with coffee and croissants on the way to the office, or perhaps target shift workers in the early evening. That’s not the half of it, future expansion could involve you in outside catering, a food delivery service, mobile van sales, event catering, internet ordering, or even opening up other shops and starting your own empire. The point I am trying to make here, is that few businesses can be expanded, refocused or reinvented beyond the original concept, with such ease. It’s a useful advantage.

You don’t need any particular qualifications

To run a sandwich shop you need a good helping of common sense, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. There is a lot you need to know, but, to use that somewhat overworked expression, its not rocket science. You will need to take a course in food hygiene, which is extremely basic and lasts about a day. Assuming that this is your first business venture, count on gaining some basic skills in book-keeping, and small business management. In addition to this a good working knowledge of the regulations governing the food industry, and business in general is advisable. There are plenty of places to get help and advice, and I list them in the relevant chapters as we go along, but as I said, none of it is particularly complicated.

People have to eat

During a recession a reputable sandwich shop will still have customers, people have to eat, even during an economic downturn. They do cut out certain luxuries though, such as eating out at a fancy restaurant Whilst its hard to say any business is recession proof, a well run sandwich shop offering good fare at reasonable prices, is about as close as you can get. The high tech world of IT and internet businesses might have a glamorous reputation, but I wouldn’t describe them as recession proof, would you ? Starting out in business can certainly be challenging, and no one can say its easy, or that there won’t be aggravations and setbacks along the way. But what is equally certain is that with the right mindset, determination and enthusiasm you can make it work, there are plenty of opportunities out there. Indeed, you might go on to establish a chain of shops, its certainly been done before, and it will be done again.