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.N*\\S-Nl--tlW-sW "l edr one of M¿or d c bJ\'e,r con me,.idl irter\ . " c r i 6 " . ' o n * o l l ' l e , d o r ¿ s b u c r e 5el - p r e - - o i\¡ . . i . \ S o " r - \ h . o ¿ C ¿ l e . l h r u . r g h oi ri h e d r ) . t bar ar€a and tables are filled with a \.ide variety of p c o p c - . h u p p e r . w o r l e r " .- t u d e - r . c. ¿|¿gc,
although younger ones predominate.At certain times, closely reflecting Spain's some¡\¡hat baffling tradition in distinctive refteshment and dining hours, a daunting tide ofcustomers noods in. To ihen rvatchthe place perform at full throtde is to be impressednot only r{ith ihe mie of client tu¡nov€¡ and cash flow büt particrlarly b, Lhe.nooüme.. ¿rd in .erüce. tus r ery pop "peed ular, new espressobar is also a marvel of e#iciency and quality coni¡ol based on sharyly and minutely defined While ltalian-theme espressobars, as conceived for Spain by Spanish entrepreneurs, have been wildly poF ula¡ in Ba¡celona fo¡ a few yeals now, üntil more recently, they ¡€mained basically unknown in Madrid. Niccoia Caffe is among the füsi Barcelona style establishments to be int¡odüced into Maddd, and the reception leaves no doubt that many morc are io come. As with ihe other new wave espressobars in Spain, and elsewhere in Europe, for that matter, the popularity of Niccola CafJeis only paftly due to the coffee itseu perhaps more to the point this is a trendy place to be in. True, some of the allure is that Niccola is seen as someihing completely new for something (coffee) that had become ütterly hümdrum. But perhaps more dlan a¡ything else, it is p¡ovocative because in fact in the flesh it is an assaülton traditional Europeanbar/caJé culture; Niccola Caffe has the look a'Ndfeel of a hot club for young nban vtingers, but in faat ¡t's Ma*i¿'s b siest
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iys something of an 'in yoür face' to mom ánd pop. the analysis of the daily business flow so as to be don€ In appeamnce Niccola would seem to be the absolute at the most efficiert times in te ns of that particular opposite of the norm in contempomry Ame can coffee site's staÍ availabiüty. These tasks are either to be oudets: it has no take out business, as this ¡ not yet accomplished at set times - such as deaning up the known in Spain (or in most of Europe); instead of bright espresso machine or even hourly - such as checkcheer it has an undergroud, counterculture feel to it; as ing the toilets. The program also automatically reminds opposed to coziness, it is clubbishly cool and se{i At üe site slaFfof ¿ll dail\ opening a-ndclo.irg proceheat, however, this espresso bar abides by the sarn€ dures. Niccola opemtes with 63 step-by st€p opening laws of fast food na¡ragement, a¡d folows some of the procedüres/ a tulI 15 of which rclate to deaning the safl€ techniques that have made concepts like Starbucks esprcsso machine afld 8¡inder and checkiflg their vítal so comme¡cially srlccessful. functions. The system calls for 51 closint procedures. OrganizinS this, r¡ranaging it, above all, keE)ing Nic- ln sum, the locations ¡un day irL day out, successfully cola on target is the work of Juan Menendez, a young handling dense climt traffic indüding tuI table señice man who apparertly has a talent for \a¡ith a stafi of only nin€/ on an opersystems manaSement d€sign as well ations p¡ogram of 129 proceduresas a taste for good coffee- Menendez In additior! the system permits came to coffee f¡om a geneÉl busi each location to cornmunicate its 'pmblem of the day' di¡ectly to headness backgromd. Coffe€ drcw him becausehe saw its great potential for quafters before closing and fo¡ a pregrowth via altemative service conarlanged weekly online chat among cepts and the ¡oom in it for new peothe staff of all tl1e locations. ple like himseu. To lea¡n coffee he Nevertheless, Niccola is focusín8 spent a year working at a rcasting its ware and wirint, its stdctly comPany and dren two frll months defined ard shuctur€d operations, in Barc€lona closely studying that all its product and se¡vice conhol city's amazing wealdr in new wave procedu¡es, on two hot afld quite esprcsso bars. His ideas for Niccola variable items - hunan nature and are in fact a blend of what he saw in ,tan Me"znAcz b the thi ker coffe€. Given this, it is not stlrprisinS Barcelona, with what he leamed behi"d N;.coh. His stess otr tftlintllat the t\a¡o ultimate concems of from the roasting business af|d of ittg ah.l the clicnt are key elernents Niccola are stalf tnining to achieve ir' a lrery cbuerly designedespresso wllat he aheady knew about Ameriproduct conbol and successful client can fast food management systems contact. In d1is regard, client contact and philosophies. is not mercly a matter of olfering up The Niccola Cafe system was built in-house on Win a smile afld decent cup of coffee. Because the Niccola dows 95 with Access 97 software. It coordinates four espressobar concept is relatively new to Madrid, client sites, the newest just now operinS. Each location is contact is essential for not only seduciry but also edu linked directly on-tine to headquarters düring operating calmg a future client base and intemctint with it so as to hours. The system p¡ovides calculation a¡d analysis of keep dre service concept on market target and enlarge its hou¡ly and daily sales, analysis of ite.rn sales and varia- commercial potmtial. tions from the site averaSe,and inventory contrcl. "We go to gr€at lengths to select oür people, t¡ain Each site's computer is also custom prcgranmed to them, and build up a smse of cama¡adeúe among our¡emind its staff of various maintenance duties, 23 in selves," rcports Menerdez. "We seeeach location statr as number, that arc to be accomplished without €xcepiion a family, widr a father ñgure ard a mother figure. The during the coürse of each day, but which arc based on tust store had a staff of eight and to help insüre continu-
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Niccal; ih¿otporat¿sthe ldtest thi kins in on li1rc operdtio'1stlltrkdgenlentbasedon in horse softu,are detelopedto giue ndxiltur r sttülddrdizationand
itlt \^'€ ha\,e dispersedthai orignlal team so d'lat there arc t!!'o of th€m now stationedat eachof our foui sitcs" To gct results in trainng, Niccola has llevjsed ¡ sct of nranualsth¡i must be studle.t by perso¡nel: one k) guide the b.atnrnmnnagcr, one onl|,hat every emplov cc müst knor\'¿bout coffeeancl tea, anothe. outljning successil client cont¡ci ir'r stcp-by-stepinstrüctions. Thesc are finelv d€tailed materials and ha|e bec¡ dra\^'neclectjc¡lll' froñ etpcrt, intem¿tionalsoLlrces the sectionon learning about csprcssocoffccbasi.s for exampleincludesmaieri¿1iranslated nrto Spanishfrom a Bellissinrovideo casscttc. The entire operational,s€Ivice,and tranljngprogram is sunmed up in the Niccola concept stateñe¡t th¿t runs to more than ¡l{lpages.This is Menendez'scode of Iar\'',his si¡ndard icicrcncc for just about €\-er]'thint that shouldhappe¡ or cancorlccivablyhappen¿t ¿ \ic cola Caffe. It is ¡Lsoan e\cellent reflectionof ho carefulh this cofi€€senice concepth¡s bcen plam€d and ex€cuied.
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The Table of Contents gives sections on estabüshing Sood siaff-client rapport, ope¡ating and cleaning the bar seNice aJld coünter areas,mainiaining the cash registet all the operátional procedures as oütlined above, main taining the correci atmosphere in the locaiion (music, air-conditionin& air quality), inventory control, step by step procedures fof opening a new location/ approaches arLdtecluriques for in-store sales, catalogue and alternative merchandising salestechniques, sets of traininS and testjng exercises - which staff must pass - for both table and bar service and inclüding the operaiion and maintenance of all equipment, instilling motivation, staffing glidelines, public relations goals, guidelines for handling various problematic 'hunan comedie' scenarios frcm dft¡ks to thieves to the overly amorous. As afl indicatíon of how serioüs the training is, each staffmemberis expectedto be able to noi onty draw a¡d serve a good espresso/but must also be able to blindly identify every coffee on the menu the house espresso blend plus six sjngle origins: Jamaica Blue Mountain, Güatemala Volcan de Oro, Colombia Supremo, Kenya AA, lava Jampii, a1.ld?üerto Rico Yauco Selecto.Tle coffees. by the wat arc bought and roasted specifically for Niccola by a Spanish supplier but not on conÍacr, as Menendez rcselves the dght to switch roasters at any time if quality drops. To crcate the Niccola Caffe look, Menendez hi(ed an Italian consültant to help set up the menu - in Iialian with Spanish explanatory notes - and the decor All locations arc basically identical, as are the menüs. For vadety, ihe company offers an additional co{fee and tea specialty of the week, which changes at each siorc at closing on Saturday night. More than the range of classic Italian espressoddnks, the menri offers an interesting and unusual assortment of coffee-based non-alcoholic exotic drinks plüs a¡ even more extensive list of brandy and hard liquor iaced coffees. As well, there is a smalt, ünemphasized offer of straight up beer and booze. Interesiindy enoügh, because Niccola wants to keep the focus and profits squarely centered on coffee and coffeebased ddnks, as they are now, should the sales of straight liquor go up at any one locaiio& the operatin8 sysiem ¡voü]d interene to raise those specific pdces so as to bring the sales balance back to where the concept wants it to be. So far this is not a problem and turnove¡ is overwhelrningly co{{ee oriented. Syrup flavored coffees are on the menLL as are teas. Niccola serves 10 teas - flavo¡ed and herbal as well as Darjeeling, Earl Grey, and a China Keemr.n As d¡inks there are also chocolate,juice, and mjneral water entries. The only food ítems are found in a t¡uly tantalizing selectionof 19 past¡ies. Decor is simple but strikhg, wiih wooden flocrs, ceiling, all wood tunishing; walls are in a soft peach
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framed by sections of ex?osed brick; wall art is pleasant but innooloüs. There are lots and lots of lights but all so dim that the overall effect is reminiscent of a]1 upbeat urban bar for younS swinSers. "So far we have sücceededbecausewe are faithful to oü establ¡hed siandard and keep on target for a lar8e, high end client base," explains Menendez. "\ ¡hat we arc doing at Niccola is th€ very opposite of franchisinS, which, wift looser standards, lack of control, and no disciplined focus on the client we see as a real business threat to the new and sti[ enerying Spanish espresso bar sector. This business is so new, we arc still workint hard day to day on acquainting our customers with the basic nüances between lattes and cappüccinos and our trademark specialiy" [served in a uniqúe, clear shot gl¿.-. thi> i. Nr..ol¿ Cdffe' mdde b) pouring \^¿'T milk in tust then topping with the house espresso blendl. "Our customers regularly get 'Opinion Cards' to fi]I out, and these are really important io our operation. We input all the infonnation and study it constandy. It gives m a feedback flow on ou¡ staff, service and prodüct quality, pdce to quality mtio, locahon, atmosphere and decor. This is exactly what we need most io keep the
concept alive and successful-" Niccola Caffe is currently gettinS ready to implement a Coffee Club program. The Club idea has already been testedin one of ihe locations.The Club is meant to al1ow for far more interaction with customers, in educational and even social telms. It is iniended to strengthen regular in-store business as well as create an out-of-store altemative merchandising initiative. Most importantly it also gives Niccola a Club members all receive a membemhip card with a chip contaíning points to use for purchases - the points can be renewed or augmented. The cards can be used at any of the locations. Niccola Caffe Club will be serviced by a catalo8ue, available on every table in the Niccola locaflons, offering coffees, teas, "We've pui together a lot of differcnt ideas and added some of oür own," says Menendez. "Much of what w€ ar€ doing is common plactlce in Am€ can cof fee rctail concepts. Büt we've been seleclve in our approach and, more importandt we've made someihing that Europeans and Spaniards can relaie to. That is D the Ley to it all. '
,ffi Exte¡sive s¿l¿.ti¿¿ of specialty coft¡e availabl€in: N¿eYotk. SonFtu^.isco . NewO ears No m¡ninum oider req!ired. The quality yau n¿et! ¿ñd ¡he s¿n¡re you cdn t/v.
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