Cafe Interior Designer: Create Your Dream Cafe in Toronto

In Toronto and the GTA area, setting up a coffee shop is a great business venture that many people are considering. 

There are several reasons for this. Reason one is that 71% of Canadians drink coffee more regularly than tap water. And reason two, the market is growing at a comfortable CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 3.75%. 

Without question, this is all exciting. However, opening a cafe isn’t as easy as buying coffee-making equipment and renting a shop. There’s much more to it. 

You need to build a brand, an experience, and a reason people should buy coffee from you. And honestly, hiring a cafe interior designer can help you with just that. 

Where to Start Before Opening a Cafe

Before hiring a cafe interior designer, it’s important to understand your market, goals, and expectations. And the best place to start is with research. 

Market Research and Business Planning

62% of independent coffee shops fail in the first 5 years. Why? Mainly because of poor market research and business planning. 

Therefore, before anything, you’ll want to research the local: 

• Demographics 

• Competitors 

• Target Audience 

• Location 

• & Costs Involved

For example, what type of people live in the area, what are their annual salaries, what do they enjoy in their spare time, what type of coffee they like, how much rent is in your location, etc? 

This research will then help you understand whether your business is doable and how you’ll shape your business plan. 

You’ll know who your competitors are, who you want to target and how, and the potential operating costs of your venture. Thus, you can create a “plan” on how you’re going to operate, including the required labour, labour costs, equipment, and location. 

Budgeting and Financing 

The market research and business plan should have uncovered some potential costs. Costs regarding labour, location, equipment, shop design and renovation, and so forth. 

Now, you need to decide whether it’s feasible. Can you fund the project yourself, or will you need financing? If you need financing, you can look at bank loans, private investors, crowdfunding, and partnerships. 

Theme and Branding 

You then must decide how you want your coffee shop to look, feel, and, well, somewhat taste. 

Do you want it modern, industrial chic, fashion-inspired, or a retro gaming-themed shop? Do you want to sell high-end or low-end coffee? What type of coffee bean do you want to use? Will you be serving food and other drinks? Start asking yourself all these questions.

These very questions will shape the theme and branding of your coffee shop. It’ll help you decide how you want consumers to view your coffee shop as well as understand what experience you want to provide them. 

What is the Minimum Budget Needed for Cafe Interior Design?

The minimum budget needed for a small cafe interior design from a cafe interior designer will be around $18,000-$21,000. This can also increase up to $45,000, depending on the size and complexity of the project. It also depends on permits required, the details needed to create a full interior design package, how much help you need with furniture and artwork sourcing, etc.

Regarding cafe renovation costs, however, projects can vary in price massively. It really depends on the equipment you choose, the furnishing and decor, the supplies and materials, and the general labour required. 

For example, we designed the interior of a coffee shop called Wet Coffee in Oakville. This project ended up taking a total of 8 months and costing $300,000.

A different project, on the other hand, from a coffee shop called The Black Canary Espresso Bar, took 10 months and cost $450,000.

As another example, we designed a cafe and retail shop called GMercato Italian Kitchen & Pantry, took 12 months and cost $830,000.

This just shows that it heavily depends on the space, the finishes, materials and equipment needed within the space and the complexity of permits and other interior design work required to operate and run a successful coffee shop.

When Should You Engage a Cafe Interior Designer?

Ideally, you should be engaging a cafe interior designer as early as possible in the process. 

This could be: 

• During the initial planning stages 

• Before signing a lease 

• When finalizing your budget 

• When considering a multi-location or rollout project 

By talking to a cafe interior designer early, they can help improve budget optimization, regulatory compliance, and concept development. 

DON’T wait till your fixturing period is over to engage an interior designer.

What to Know for a Rollout Interior Design Project

When planning a very extensive rollout cafe design project, an interior designer can help significantly and organize the work in a way where it is most efficient in terms of cost and time.

As you know, these projects are when a brand renovates or builds several cafes at one time. 

For example, in 2024, Starbucks announced the implementation of a new inclusive design. This new cafe design included a different POS system suitable for employees and customers with visual and audible impairment, wheelchair users, and more. 

Though only a new POS system, it must fulfil the branding and cafe requirements of Starbucks, something a cafe interior designer probably helped with. This ensures the new system looks visually pleasing and, most importantly, works for its intended use. 

A cafe interior designer is responsible for making this work. They ensure the rollout design project is organized and implemented correctly to ensure branding and cafe consistency. 

At Sansa Interiors, we have and continue to work on many rollout locations for our clients, and it always starts with a solid concept that can be applied to 1 or 1000 locations.

Typical Timelines for Cafe Interior Design Projects

The timeline for cafe interior design projects can vary massively. 

Here are some estimates: 

As you can see, a cafe interior designer can help you in various ways. They can help with everything from the cafe concept to the implementation of the design. 

Looking for a cafe interior designer in Toronto?

Feel free to contact us at Sansa Interior. We’ve helped many cafes with their cafe interior design and would be honoured to help you as well!