Theme cafes are all the rage in local conventions. However, not all cafes do an equally good job. Some are popular because they are the only food concessionaire at the venue, and others because of their celebrity servers.

Neither the food nor the service is worth the price of admission at these cafes, and that’s a crying shame. Here are five tips that prospective organizers can keep in mind when putting together their first theme cafe.

Food

The food should be the absolute best quality that the cafe organizers can afford to put out with the price of admission. At the same time, it should be food that can be easily served even with limited facilities, as theme cafes are usually held in convention centers without the benefit of proper kitchen facilities. Try to stick to a set menu instead of a la carte, in order to eliminate the need for short order cooks and an extensive menu.

Ambience

Make sure that the cafe ambience is fitting. At the very least have a cloth on the table and proper plates, cups, and saucers with your food. One of my favorite horror stories involving a theme cafe was one wherein the food was served in paper plates and the tea service was basically a styro cup full of hot water and a tea bag. That is cheap and tacky and so not my idea of a cafe — if I wanted one of those I’d have nipped by Starbucks and spent my PhP 100 there instead.

Service

Many cafes are staffed by volunteers in cosplay, so none of them have any food service training whatsoever. However, that should be no excuse, and training sessions on food service should be given to your staff. Try to ask a friend who has been on the wait staff of a restaurant, or people in your university’s Hotel and Restaurant Management program to teach you the basics, and pass on that knowledge to your cafe staff.

Costs

Even if you’re putting a cafe together for fun and not for profit, you should still keep an eye on your bottom line. Keep a fair price on your food; nobody wants a PhP 100 sandwich that is composed of two slices of cheap white bread and a slather of Cheez Wiz. Try not to spend more than you can charge for tickets. Don’t consign your entire budget to food — there are other things to consider like consumables (napkins, sugar, milk, etc.), equipment (cups, saucers, spoons, etc.), and decorations.

Safety

Lastly, always make sure that your kitchen facility and your main dining floor are safe places to work in. Mop up all spills immediately. Keep knives and other sharp objects in a safe place. Be careful when handling hot food and liquids. If you are not confident in holding your food tray in the traditional waiters hook, just use both hands instead.

Last but not least, be firm but polite when your guests start getting rowdy or pushy with their requests from you and your wait staff. You are not getting paid to put up with their harassment, and it would serve you well to remind your guests of that.