Is It Profitable to Open a Coffee Shop in Small Cities? Should Baristas Consider a Career Change Due to Low Wages?

The Reality of Opening a Coffee Shop in Small Cities

"Hey, hey, hey! Ever thought about opening a coffee shop in a small city or small town? Think about it — you can't compete in the big cities and the rent is brutal. Small cities are different: barely any competition, cheap rent, and plenty of potential customers. You'd definitely make good money. You should really consider it."

Anyone in the coffee industry has heard some version of this pitch:

"Go open a coffee shop in a small city! Open a shop! Open a shop..."

Let me be blunt: whoever urges you to open a coffee shop is, frankly, doing you no favors. If it were that profitable, why wouldn't they open one themselves? Their inevitable reply is "But I don't know coffee — how could I open one?" And someone who doesn't understand coffee yet still pushes you to open a shop is even worse. Precisely because they know nothing about the industry, they still cling to idealized fantasies about it. In the movies, owning a café is all about chatting with customers; the shop has been there for decades, everything is calm and cozy — as if making money were an afterthought.

Is It Really Easier to Make Money in Small Cities?

Is it actually easier to turn a profit in a small city? Are there really that many coffee drinkers there? These two questions deserve hard scrutiny. Rent may look cheaper, but the local spending power probably isn't what you imagine. Coffee, after all, isn't a necessity — very few people are willing to drop twenty or thirty yuan on a single cup.

Is rent in small cities genuinely cheap? That's an illusion created by comparison with big-city prices. Retail rents are set by foot traffic, and in small cities the high-traffic locations are expensive too — sometimes even pricier than in big cities. And high foot traffic doesn't guarantee business, because the number of people who actually want coffee isn't as large as you'd hope.

So judging whether rent is "appropriate" involves far more than comparing prices across regions. What matters is the local consumption level and the price point you'd need to charge to balance cost against profit.

Who Are the Coffee Customers in Small Cities?

People who visit cafés in small cities are often returnees — those who lived in big cities and eventually moved back home. They end up popularizing coffee culture locally. Then there are young people drawn to cafés as spaces, but without high expectations for the coffee itself — they're really looking for somewhere to socialize.

Many aspiring small-city café owners also dream of serving specialty coffee, because it feels "classy." But specialty coffee means expensive beans. Price it high, and few customers can appreciate it — you'll still hear "I paid a lot of money and tasted nothing; instant coffee is better." Price it low, and the coffee seems cheap while the margins evaporate. Either way, you'll quickly conclude that a coffee shop simply doesn't make money.

The Harsh Reality of Coffee Shop Economics

Yes — a shop that sells only coffee genuinely doesn't make much money. Ideals and reality are hard to reconcile. As the saying goes: a business needs a market to have a chance at profit, because only a formed business district concentrates demand. Going it alone, you'll burn out fast. Even if you don't lose money, you'll be in the shop all year without a day off, breaking even every month. You'd be better off as an employee — at least you get one day off a week.

Just yesterday, people were complaining about baristas' low pay and heavy workloads. Perhaps they should all try running a shop and discover that being the boss isn't easy either. You may find yourself calculating costs around the clock — every waking hour spent figuring out how to pay your baristas and keep the shop alive.

The True Costs of Opening a Shop

Start-up costs stay stubbornly high. Never mind how long it takes to break even — an investment of over 50,000 yuan is basically unavoidable. Sign the lease and you've committed to a year's rent; landlords don't discount just because you're doing coffee. Add coffee equipment, beans, utilities, labor (even if you work alone, your own time is a cost) — and the time you spend hunting for the right location before you even open counts too.

Why Stay in the Coffee Industry at All?

Why keep pulling shots on a barista's wage? Why open a shop with thin margins? Deep down, everyone knows their own answer. If the pay feels too low, you're free to change jobs. If the shop isn't making money, you're free to transfer it and go back to employment. The fact that you're still here proves you genuinely love coffee — and that your time as a barista has given you what you wanted and taught you what you wanted to learn.

Passion can't be eaten as food — but at the end of passion, there is food to eat. Baristas and café owners don't earn much, but it's enough to cover daily expenses, and because they're doing work they truly love, they have purpose and peace of mind. That beats earning slightly more while facing every workday with a heavy heart.

That said, I'm not encouraging anyone to chase ideals or momentary impulses into setbacks, or to think "why not open a coffee shop and live the easy life" after making a little money elsewhere. Every job has its exhausting parts. Even the work you love stays frustrating in the ways it was always going to be frustrating.

When Should You Consider Opening a Coffee Shop?

Only when your finances can comfortably cover all your living expenses plus the shop and your baristas should you seriously consider opening. Or treat the café as a side business while a day job keeps cash flowing — giving yourself a mental outlet (just don't expect it to make money; aim to break even).

Image source: Internet (does not refer to any specific coffee shop pictured)

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Whether your dream café is in a big city or a small town, it starts with beans that taste great without wrecking your cost structure. FrontStreet Coffee's entry-level single origins are built exactly for that: the washed Guodingding cooperative lot from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia offers jasmine florals, lemony acidity and berry notes, while the natural Sidamo Huakui leans into tropical fruit, jackfruit, melon and honey — crowd-pleasing flavors that make specialty coffee approachable for newcomers.

For an everyday house bean that's tasty and affordable, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon delivers classic cream, peanut and cocoa flavors with soft acidity and gentle sweetness — ideal black or with milk. If you want something a cut above, FrontStreet Coffee's Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate) Yellow Bourbon adds sugarcane-like sweetness and a sticky-smooth body at a higher growing altitude. And for customers who hate acidity, the wet-hulled FrontStreet Indonesia Mandheling brings herbal, spicy notes with a rich, smooth body — with the triple-hand-sorted PWN Golden Mandheling offering an even cleaner, silkier cup.