Should dine-in and takeaway prices be different?

Restaurants often have a different price for take-away than dine-ins. It’s time for more cafes to apply a similar strategy, especially when it comes to coffee.

Different experience

The experience of enjoying a coffee in a café is vastly different from grabbing one to go. When you dine in, your coffee often comes with impeccable latte art and top-notch service in a beautifully designed space. Sharing this moment with friends or colleagues makes it an elevated, unique experience.

In contrast, takeaway coffee is typically all about convenience. It's your quick pick-me-up on the way to work, a break-time treat, or a batch order for the office. While it's still delicious and special, the experience differs from the leisurely enjoyment of a dine-in café visit.

Different costs

The costs associated with dine-in and takeaway coffee also differ. Dine-in service includes standard coffee-making expenses, table service, cleanup and significant overheads like high lease costs for prime locations. These spaces are a limited resource, especially during busy periods when every table matters. Takeaway also has some costs that dine-in does not, for example, the price of the take away cup and the lid (ps. we highly encourage reusable cups). However, the costs still differ between a dine-in and a takeaway coffee

Around the world

In many European countries, it is common to have a service charge of around 15% or a fixed fee when dining in. In Italy, for example, a coperto or a cover charge is added when dining in. In the US, tipping or gratatuity makes up a big part of the overall bill. It is almost seen as mandatory and ranges from 15% to 25%. This illustrates that around the world, hospitality venues have evolved different pricing mechanisms to create sustainable business models.

Conclusion

Dine-in and takeaway coffee offer distinct experiences and incur different costs. It's only logical for cafes to price them accordingly, reflecting these differences in their pricing strategy. If you are a busy cafe, consider your dine-in and takeaway pricing as two distinct experiences and price propositions. 

If you want to explore ways you can help your customers understand coffee prices, we’d love to chat with you. Get in contact via this form. Or check out this article that explores why green coffee prices are changing around the globe.