Free Cafe Stands Out, Gets Buzzed About
Coffee shops are everywhere. Throw a rock (or a handful of coffee beans) and you're bound to at least graze a nearby cafe. So what's an independent coffeepreneur to do if he wants to stand out from the herd when opening up shop? Ervin Peretz, founder of the Kirkland, Wash. Terra Bite Lounge, decided on a pretty radical tactic: No prices are listed, and Terra Bite patrons pay whatever they choose for their cups of Joe.
Peretz is banking on the fact that particularly generous caffeine aficionados will offset the profit loss incurred from more stingy sippers, and a low-overhead business model keeps the Terra Bite's profit margins manageable. According to Peretz, the idea behind the Terra Bite Lounge surfaced during a debate with a colleague in which Peretz insisted that people are essentially good and will respond positively if they see goodness in their environments. Whether Terra Bite will prove Peretz's theory right or wrong remains to be seen, but in the meantime, the idea of a coffee shop that lets you pay what you choose -- or not -- is certainly worth talking about.
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