The java smell in Westwood is about to get even stronger, as a
new cafe and coffee shop opening on Monday will have to compete
with the numerous other coffee shops already operating in the
area.
The Novel Cafe will be located at 1101 Gayley Ave., just one
block down from a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and walking distance
from another Coffee Bean, two Starbucks, and a Peet’s Coffee
and Tea. It will also compete with the 43 other Starbucks locations
found within five miles of the center of campus.
“I always welcome competition in whatever I do, but we do
have a lot of coffee shops in Westwood,” said Steve Sanchez,
manager of the Coffee Bean on Westwood Boulevard.
Katie Chung, manager of the Novel Cafe, is optimistic about
finding a niche for her establishment.
“I’m not worried about other coffee shops, because
ours is kind of different from all that,” Chung said.
“Not only is our food going to be organic, but also our
coffees are. I’m confident in our product and in our food, so
I’m not worried.”
In addition to organic coffees and teas, the Novel Cafe will
serve gourmet sandwiches, salads and breakfast. It will also offer
a collection of books.
“Basically, we wanted an environment that had an
intellectual feel to it, so people can be creative, writing or
studying or what have you,” Chung said. “We
didn’t just want to be a random bookstore or coffee
house.”
But other coffee shops also encourage their customers to stay
longer than the few minutes it takes to drink a cup of coffee.
“We’re getting (wireless internet) in all our
locations by the end of next month, so we’re helping people
get online and do their homework or whatever they have to
do,” Sanchez said. “If you’re going to stay a
couple of hours, I’m pretty sure you’ll buy more than
just one cup.”
Chung also said that she hoped the Novel Cafe would attract more
than just the usual college crowd.
“We want to be more of a community base ““ not only
students and professionals, but more of a family environment,
too,” Chung said. “We really want people to just hang
out at the cafe and make them really comfortable.”
Sanchez believes that, with all the coffee shops in Westwood, an
establishment’s fate depends primarily on its customer
service.
“Your customer service is extremely important in this
business,” he said. “It all depends on who and how you
hire. You have to hire great people with great attitudes and train
them well.”
The Coffee Bean and Starbucks both have a large following at
UCLA. Both chains have UCLA groups devoted to them on the Facebook,
a popular internet social network for college students, and Sanchez
estimated that between 30 and 40 percent of his Coffee Bean
customers are students.
However, Brenda Flores, a second-year English student, and Nick
Brown, a first-year communication studies student, both said they
would be willing to try the Novel Cafe when it opens.
“I would like to think that some people would be willing
to try something new, and then if they like it I guess
they’ll stick around,” Flores said.
“I think if it’s good and a fun environment, people
will probably go there instead of somewhere else,” Brown
said.
The new Westwood location is the second Novel Cafe to open; one
store already exists in Santa Monica.