{"id":817236,"date":"2025-03-17T11:28:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T09:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=817236"},"modified":"2025-03-17T11:28:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T09:28:29","slug":"the-south-african-coffee-shop-where-everything-on-the-menu-costs-r14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/817236\/the-south-african-coffee-shop-where-everything-on-the-menu-costs-r14\/","title":{"rendered":"The South African coffee shop where everything on the menu costs R14"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nicolene and Tomer Elhadad\u2019s Xpresso Caf\u00e9 shook up the South African market by offering anything on the menu\u2014including coffee, baked goods, and other food\u2014for R14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicolene Elhadad explained<\/a> that the idea to launch an affordable coffee shop started a decade ago when they were enjoying a coffee and realised it was expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe noticed that the coffee shops did not attract everyone. It was because not everyone could afford the products they had available,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found that sad because I see coffee as something you should be able to enjoy every day. It should not be something you spoil yourself with once a week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted to make the experience more affordable. It took them around two years to find a suitable business model for their venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to make it simple and easy. Our vision was to offer a family of five people an experience where everyone can buy two things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe argued about the price. My husband insisted that every item on the menu cost R10, but I did not know if that would be sustainable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a menu where everything costs R10 stuck, and the couple launched their first Xpresso Caf\u00e9 in Durbanville in Cape Town in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept was so foreign that Nicolene and Tomer Elhadad were not sure it would work. They did not even tell their family and friends about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had no experience in restaurants, coffee, or baking, and we have never worked with the public directly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did not have a rigid business plan. We focussed on ensuring that the business can work from the till.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, whatever they sold at the new Xpresso Caf\u00e9 had to be able to cover their daily expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe night before we opened, I thought this would not work. Nobody will come to our new coffee shop,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the launch, they worked hard to spread the word that there was a new coffee shop that offered everything on the menu for R10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe decided to give the business three to six months before looking at the numbers and assess its viability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Xpresso Caf\u00e9 store was a hit, and the word spread<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Nicolene and Tomer Elhadad wanted to launch their first Xpresso Caf\u00e9, they asked rental agents to find them a good location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They selected Durbanville in Cape Town because they lived close to it, which made it easier to run the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they launched the first Xpresso Caf\u00e9, they did not do any advertising or promotions. This gave the team time to learn how to do everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who walked into the Xpresso Caf\u00e9 were surprised that everything only cost R10. \u201cI had to repeat it a hundred times because people were so surprised,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, the word spread rapidly. The new coffee shop was featured in the press, on radio, and on television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople were contacting us through the community who spread the word about the unique new coffee shop that sells all products at R10,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also great social media coverage where people posted information about Xpresso Caf\u00e9 selling all products at R10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the one store in Durbanville in 2015, Xpresso Caf\u00e9 has grown to 65 outlets selling 50,000 cups of coffee a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It maintained its special R10 price for five years, then increased it to R12 in October 2021 and to R14 in October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything in life does not have to be expensive. We do not make a lot of profit, but in life, giving has always been better than receiving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to offer our customers flavourful coffee, delicious pastries, appetising sandwiches and decadent treats to enjoy any time of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said seeing their customers being able to come back every day for their favourite snack and coffee is a dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2025 Xpresso Caf\u00e9 menu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Inside Xpresso Caf\u00e9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nicolene and Tomer Elhadad\u2019s Xpresso Caf\u00e9 shook up the South African market by offering anything on the menu, including coffee, baked goods, and other food, for R14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":817258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[22044,22045,22043],"class_list":["post-817236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-nicolene-elhadad","tag-tomer-elhadad","tag-xpresso-cafe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817236"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817283,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817236\/revisions\/817283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}