Luxury Cafe Owner - Chapter 36 The Problem With The Coffee Cake

As Alan walked out into the cafe, he saw Tom’s eyes locked on him. More specifically, they were locked on the plate of cake he was carrying. He walked over to Tom and handed him the plate.

“Enjoy,” He said before walking away. He firmly believed that his customers should be left on their own to enjoy the food and drink his cafe offered. His presence would only take away their focus.

Hence, he didn’t even observe Tom from the counter. Instead he went back into the kitchen and busied himself by placing the cake in a covered glass dish meant to preserve the cake’s moisture. Then he cleaned up the kitchen a little. Only after he finished that did he walk back out.

He noticed that Tom now had an empty plate and was lying back in his chair with his eyes closed, sipping on his coffee and issuing contented sighs.

Watching Tom for a moment, Alan felt a sense of satisfaction at this reaction to his coffee cake. As he stood behind the counter Claire stood up and walked over to him. “I’d like a slice of the coffee cake too please.” Alan nodded, went back to the kitchen to cut her a slice, and then brought it out to her. He charged her credit card the extra $5.00 and handed it back to her with a nod. She gave a rare smile and went back to her seat with the cake.

Alan likewise spared her the discomfort of having someone stare intensely at you while you eat. Instead, he went to Tom and offered to clear the plate away. When things were busy Alan didn’t always take the time to do this, asking customers to return it to the counter. However, if he had the time, he would always prefer to go the extra step to make sure that his customers had the most luxurious experience possible. Sometimes, that just meant doing something simple like taking their plates or cups away after they were finished so they didn’t have to bring it to the counter.

It was the sum of a number of small things that added to the overall luxurious environment of the cafe.

As Alan walked back with the plate, Tom followed with his coffee and took a seat at the counter.

After Alan brought the plate into the kitchen and set it in the dishwasher, he returned to the counter where Tom sat.

“Not staying in your armchair?” Alan asked curiously.

Tom shook his head. “That cake was too filling. Between the warmth of the coffee, the comfort of the armchair, and the beginnings of a food coma from being stuffed I was in danger of falling asleep.”

Alan chuckled slightly, but also felt slightly curious. This was the first time someone had tried the cake, and it seemed that it really did have the effect of fully satisfying one’s appetite. Staring at Tom like a guinea pig, he asked, “Did you eat before you came here?”

Tom shook his head. “Not at all. That’s why it’s strange. Your coffee cake is very filling.” He eyebrows furrowed briefly as he thought about the phenomenon, but then they smoothed out as he relaxed. “I guess that’s why they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If this carries forward I’ll probably only have something small for lunch. Guess I’ll be on the cake diet going forward.”

Tom laughed as he suddenly had a thought. He looked at Alan and smirked, saying, “I guess this means your sales won’t be that high. One slice per day and they’ll be all set.” He poked fun at Alan’s weak point: his greediness.

Alan remained aloof. He looked at Tom’s slight paunch on his stomach that showed through his shirt, then looked back at his face, and said, “Worry about losing some weight before you worry about how well my coffee cake will do.”

Tom pretended to be hurt, clutching at his heart in an exaggerated manner. “You wound me good sir. That’s it I can’t stand it anymore. I’ll take my leave.” Alan shook his head, not fooled. Finished joking around, Tom drained the rest of his coffee then stood up to leave, saying goodbye as he did so.

“I’ll see you for cappuccino in the evening,” Alan said as Tom walked towards the door. Tom waved at him without looking back as he went out.

As Tom left, Alan fell silent as he began to ponder Tom’s words. Truth be told, Tom did have a point. People who were big eaters would still be full after eating his cake. They weren’t likely to order other dishes he made when he added them to the menu in the future. Moreover, they were unlikely to stop by again around noon for another slice due to the filling effect of the cake.

Alan felt a slight headache come on as he began to realize what a problem this was.

“System, what’s the deal with the effect of the coffee cake? Why would you give me a reward that cost me money?” Alan demanded angrily.

“Host, all of the system’s products are top grade luxury items. They all have a place in the world’s most luxurious cafe. If Host can’t figure out how to make money off of them, then it simply means Host is still too inexperienced.”

Alan shook his head. Typical system. “Sorry I’m so lacking system,” He said sarcastically.

However, the system didn’t seem to hear the sarcasm in his voice. “Do not worry Host. The system will give you plenty of opportunities for self improvement. Work hard Host.”

Alan couldn’t summon the energy to respond. The system really left him at a loss sometimes.

As he pushed thoughts of the system and the rising headache that he felt coming on from the conversation to the back of his mind, he turned his attention back to the problem of the coffee cake.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to get people to purchase it multiple times per day. Thus, he needed to encourage many people to eat it in order to make it a very profitable item. However, that brought another problem to mind: he didn’t have enough customers.

He still hadn’t reached 100 regular customers. In order to really make the coffee cake a profitable menu item he would need to have at least 100 regular customers who ordered it every time they came. All joking aside, he did want the coffee cake to succeed. Coffee cake was to a cafe what a hamburger was to a fast food restaurant. It was the quintessential food item associated with a cafe. Of course, he would add other food later on once he received the system rewards, but he wanted his coffee cake to remain iconic.

Thinking over this problem, he couldn’t come up with any immediate solutions. He could only continue his daily business and do his best to seize an opportunity when it arrived. In the meantime, he’d try to make sure the coffee cake caught people’s attention.

Going back into the kitchen he brought the glass dish that held the cake out to the counter and set it right next to wear people stood while ordering. Then he went to the desk in the kitchen, took out cardstock, and wrote a description of the coffee cake in elegant letters. He had practice from scrawling the menu on the chalkboard every day. While his writing didn’t rise to the level of calligraphy, it was nonetheless attention grabbing. Another skill he’d thought was useless when he learned it in an art class in college, yet now he found a use for it.

He chuckled to himself when he thought about trying to add that skill to a resume. Even he wouldn’t be impressed by it if he was hiring help. Yet in this moment it was adding value to his business.

Shaking his head he took the elegant looking card out front and laid it against the glass dish, the side with writing on it facing towards the door.

As he finished this, he noticed Claire had finished her cake. Walking over he picked up her plate. She looked up at him as he did. “It was very tasty. I’ll order it again in the future.” Alan smiled and bowed his head slightly. Turning, he walked back to the kitchen with her plate and put it in the dishwasher. Then he returned to the front of the cafe to await customers.