Cafés
Order Counter Budget and Scope for Cafés
Compare like-for-like scopes by separating base work, specialist items and upgrades before requesting a quote.
Explore the ideas
Compare the options
- Set the brief
- List the functions the finished space must support, then assign items to base scope or upgrades.
- Compare
- Get quantities and materials described consistently across quotes. Ask who covers making good and waste removal.
- Before buying
- Set aside a contingency for survey-dependent work and price likely substitutions before choosing finishes.
Worked example
A foyer refresh includes a new storage cabinet, mirror, lighting, and floor repair, but quotes describe different work.
Separate necessary floor and electrical work from optional mirror and cabinet upgrades. Compare cabinet internals, finish, installation, and making-good as matching line items.
How to test it
Read the exclusions back with each supplier and ask what must be purchased or arranged separately.
Apply it to this space
- Layout
- Place ordering first and pickup farther along the counter, with a queue lane that does not cross the entrance.
- Detail
- Make the menu legible from the queue and use a durable counter edge that tolerates bags and trays.
- Trade-off
- A longer counter clarifies stages but reduces room for seating.
- Simulate ordering and pickup at a busy moment
- Check menu readability from the back of the queue

The Elixir portfolio
Details worth a closer look

