You want to open a place to eat in your small town. Maybe a coffee shop, a little cafe, a bakery. You’ve been thinking about it for months, maybe years.
But you’re not sure if enough people will come. You don’t know what they’ll actually order. You’re not certain you can handle running it day after day.
Here’s how to find out before you spend serious money: borrow the community hall and start testing.
Try Wing Night Wednesdays (or make it your own)
At the Canadian Beef Industry Conference, a couple from a town of just a few hundred people mapped out their action on one of my postcards:
- Gather our crowd in our community hall for Wing Night Wednesdays
- Build connections to make plans for a successful business
- Take small steps: talk to community members and send invites
Before they left the conference, they’d texted someone about using the hall. By the next day, they had permission and had recruited friends to help make wings and invite others.
They’re testing whether their town wants a place to eat, and they’re doing it without buying equipment, signing a lease, or quitting their jobs.
What you learn
Running regular meetups at the community hall tells you things you can’t learn any other way:
Do people actually show up? You might think everyone wants a coffee shop, but will they come out on a Tuesday morning for Coffee and Pastries?
What do people want? You’re planning a lunch place, but you discover people keep asking if you’re open for breakfast.
What time works? You thought dinner would be big, but your town empties out at 6 PM because everyone’s at their kids’ activities.
Can you handle it? Cooking for 20 people once a week is different than running a daily operation. This lets you test your own capacity.
What does it actually cost? You’ll learn your food costs, your time investment, what you can charge, and whether the math works.
Who are your customers? Maybe you’re targeting families but it’s retired folks who show up consistently.
Build your base before you open
Here’s the bonus: everyone who comes to Wing Night Wednesdays is a potential customer when you do open. You’re not starting from zero trying to convince strangers to try your new place. You’ve already got relationships.
They know your food. They trust you. They’ve been rooting for you to make this happen.
Some of them might even invest or help when you’re ready to take the next step.
You don’t need much to start
Can’t afford a food truck or trailer? Don’t need one yet.
Most small towns have a community hall, church kitchen, or VFW post you can use. Some will let you use it for free or minimal cost, especially if you’re serving the community.
All you need is enough to make your test menu. Wings and fries. Coffee and muffins. Soup and sandwiches. Whatever you’re planning to serve.
Start monthly if weekly feels like too much. Start with just desserts and coffee if a full menu is overwhelming.
The point is to start small enough that you actually do it.
What if it doesn’t work?
Maybe you discover your town won’t support daily operations, but monthly gatherings work great. That’s valuable information before you invest in equipment and commit to overhead.
Maybe you learn people want breakfast, not lunch. Or they want a food truck at the farmer’s coop, not a sit-down restaurant. Now you can adjust your plan.
Maybe you realize you don’t want to do this every day. Better to learn that now.
Or maybe someone else in the group says “I’ve always wanted to do this” and you end up partnering or handing off the idea entirely.
None of these outcomes require you to lose money or make a commitment you can’t undo.
Start testing
You don’t need a business plan or a loan or perfect conditions. You need permission to use a kitchen and enough food for your first gathering.
Pick a date. Send some invites. Make some wings (or muffins, or soup, or whatever you’re planning to serve).
See who shows up. See what they order. See if you can handle it.
Then decide what comes next.
What’s your Wing Night Wednesday?
- About the Author
- Latest by this Author
Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
