Real Food Cafe launches express coffee station to beat the queues

The Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum, Crianlarich, has launched a new self-service express coffee station in a bid to keep up with growing demand and reduce customer wait times.

The idea came to owner Sarah Heward after noticing just how many potential customers were being put off by long queues. “We frequently have a queue out the door, especially in peak season,” she explained. “I had a feeling we were losing a lot of customers who just wanted a quick coffee and didn’t want to wait.”

Coffee is big business for the roadside cafe, with between 950 and 1,000 takeaway cups sold each week during the busiest months. But the barista-made coffees that the cafe is known for take time to prepare, often holding up the queue of people wanting to order fish and chips.

The solution was a state-of-the-art bean-to-cup vending machine, capable of serving up to 250 coffees a day, installed in a specially designed self-service station next to the café. Sarah has invested nearly £20,000 in the project, covering the machine itself, payment technology, and upgrades to the building. “It wasn’t cheap,” she admitted, “but I wanted to do it properly. I didn’t want a half-measure.”

The investment is already paying off. In its first two weeks, the station sold more than 800 extra coffees, generating almost £1,000 profit per week. Sarah plans to keep the machine open year-round, stressing the importance of consistency. “If people know it’s always there and always good, they’ll stop, even in January.”

At £3.75 for a latte – the cafe’s best-seller – Sarah believes her prices are fair and competitive. “We’re not the cheapest, but we’re not the most expensive either. It’s about giving people what they want. And when they are on the road they want to be quick and they want to keep their journey fluid.”

The express station, which opens just before the cafe at 7.15am, is just the beginning for Sarah, who plans to introduce QR codes allowing customers to order cakes and sandwiches to be brought out to them. She is also researching specialist vending machines for chilled food and even one for hot chips. 

“Years ago, I used to run pubs in London and we used something called an Auto Fryer,” she said. “You put a portion of frozen chips in one end and they would come out of the other end cooked in one minute. I’m sure the equipment has come on since then, this was 25 years ago, so if anyone is reading this and can help, please do get in touch with me.”

For Sarah, the new coffee station isn’t just a way to increase revenue, it’s also a way of tackling wider challenges facing hospitality. With staffing shortages and rising costs, she sees technology as part of the solution. “As business owners, we have to do whatever we can to reduce our reliance on staff. This is my first step.”