A first floor space often costs less, and that can look like a good deal. But every customer has to see you, find the stairs and climb them. Before you choose, check what people see from the road, how they get up, and how your kitchen and deliveries will work. Then ask if the rent you save is bigger than the customers you may lose.
Simran wanted to open a café. She found two spaces on the same busy road.
The first was on the ground floor, right on the footpath. Glass front, easy to walk in, and the rent was high.
The second was on the first floor of a building two doors down. Bigger room, a nice window over the road, and the rent was a lot lower.
She was ready to take the first floor. Then she stood across the road and looked up. She could not see the window clearly. The staircase was behind a mobile shop. A sign for a coaching class hid the door.
She asked herself one question: if I cannot find it, how will someone who is just walking past?
What to check on your site visit
Go at your busy hour, not when the road is empty. Take a friend who has never been there.
1. Can people see it from the road? Stand on the footpath, then across the road. Can you see the window, the sign, the door? Ask where your signboard can go. A board high up on the wall may be hard to read from below. Ask if you can put a small board at the foot of the stairs too. The eight checks at the shop door help here as well.
2. Can people find the stairs? Ask your friend to find the entrance without help. Is the staircase clean, lit and easy to spot? Or is it a dark gap between two shops? A customer who cannot find the door will not knock.
3. Who can climb them? Think about an older person, a parent with a pram, someone with a bad knee. Count the steps. Look for a rail. Ask if there is a lift, if it works every day, and who pays for it.
4. How will delivery riders get in? Riders want to park, pick up and go. Ask where they can stand their bikes. Ask if they can come up, or if you will send someone down with every order. Walk it once with a bag in your hand.
5. Is there parking for customers? Look at where cars and two wheelers stop now. Ask if the building has its own space, or if everyone fights for the road. Here is how to check parking and access.
6. Can you cook up there? Ask where the exhaust pipe will go, how gas will reach the floor, and where the oily water will drain. Some buildings and cities have their own rules for kitchens on upper floors. Ask the landlord, the society and your local authority before you sign. Our guide on whether a shop can have a kitchen has the full checks.
7. Is it safe if there is a fire? Look for a second way down. If the only stairs are also the only way out, ask what your city asks for. The local fire office can tell you.
8. Does water reach the first floor? Open a tap and see how strong it is. Ask how many hours water comes, where the tank is, and if a pump is needed.
9. Will the landlord allow your signs? Ask in writing where you can put boards: on the front wall, at the stairs, on the ground floor. Some buildings say no to boards outside the upper floors.
Rent saved or customers lost?
Lower rent is real money. But fewer walk in customers is real money too.
Do this simple sum. How much rent will you save in a month? Now, how many extra orders would the ground floor need to bring to cover that? If the answer is only a few orders a day, the ground floor may be the better buy. If you are a place people plan to visit, a first floor can work. The same sum helps when you choose a corner shop or middle shop.
Common questions
Do first floor cafés work at all?
Some do well, often when people come on purpose. A quick stop place needs to be seen and easy to reach.
Can I fix the visibility later?
Only if your sign plan is agreed before you sign. Get it written in the lease.
What if the lift stops working?
Ask who repairs it and how fast. Put it in writing.
Why this matters
On the ground floor, the road brings people to your door. Upstairs, you have to bring them yourself. While they look for your stairs, the café next door is already making their coffee.
Check the address before you sign. Viabe Location Check reads one exact address: nearby competitors, how busy the street is, the usual busy hours for your kind of business, fair rent, a risk scorecard with the licences you need in your city, and a clear answer. Check your location. Full report ₹2,999 + GST.