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I looked the address up on Google maps and it was a vacant shop with a "For Rent" sign. That seemed a little too up to date even for Google. So how long has this business been open?

"The coffee shop in Lynn, Massachusetts had been open for about a year".

Statistically, "most restaurants close during their first year of operation."

So her venture is right on schedule.

Free business advice to Kato Mele, if she tries to open another coffee shop:

Don't paste ANY political crap to your front door. NONE. (Or anywhere else in the business.) No employees with political buttons, shirts, hats, stickers, etc. It's a rough business without turning away half of your potential customer base.

Also, IMO, it was a pretty dumb idea in the first place. Police -- particularly police working in neighborhoods "on the rise" -- have better things to do with their time than to sit around drinking coffee and chatting.

If I tried opening a coffee shop in an iffy neighborhood, I'd definitely offer free coffee and internet access to LEOs as a matter of business policy.

But I don't think I'd ever try opening a coffee shop in an "on the rise" neighborhood the first place. If "most restaurants close during their first year of operation" the odds must be FAR worse in iffy neighborhoods.

Better chances buying Lotto tickets with the money.

"Who is Starbucks' favorite customer?"

"Its target demographic is urban and affluent, often on-the-go white-collar professionals looking to take their caffeine fix with them to the office. The company considers its core customers to be educated, with an average age of 42, and average income of $90,000."

I think she didn't understand the coffee shop target market very well.

Also, a 7:00 AM opening time for a coffee shop seems a little late unless your intended target market is crack dealers and prostitutes.

If you want to sell coffee to nearby office workers who want to grab a cup on their way to work, 6:00 AM or 6:30 might be better.

<Also, IMO, it was a pretty dumb idea in the first place. Police — particularly police working in neighborhoods “on the rise” — have better things to do with their time than to sit around drinking coffee and chatting.

I don’t know about neighborhoods “on the rise,” but my university town hosts coffee with a cop monthly. I don’t know how popular it is, but it’s been going on for over a year, so someone must be going to them.