I can take some time to get to the answer but it is still going to be six. And, each circumstance is different, but I would still struggle to get to five or seven as the answer.
First, why six? To capture any kind of coffee, breakfast or lunch business, you have to be open on every business day. You can't close on Mondays if you really want to capture the business market. Saturday is the busiest day of the week in most retail circumstances so you definitely want to be open then. Open Monday –Friday plus Saturday equals six.
Why not Sunday? You can open that day if you wish but I just don’t think the benefit is worth the cost. Generally, in our space, Sunday is not a high volume day. Even if you can cover costs, the dynamic of a seven day a week operation is just different. There is no down time. There is more stress. There is more trouble scheduling a crew over seven days than six. It is hard to be anything close to loose and fun if you have these worries. Six is the right answer.
Historically, many Great Harvest bakeries have been, and in some cases are, open just five days. Generally, that is personal preference. We firmly believe that we should only work five days a week but that doesn’t mean the store shouldn’t be open on the sixth. It's a great opportunity for key employees to lead.
Thanks for reading.
