1542 | Part 2 of 5 | Hospitality, Hype, and the Changing Café Customer - Carol Salloum
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Episode Description
This is Part 2 of a five-part series with Carol Salloum, cofounder of 3Tomatoes and Almond Bar in Sydney, Australia. In Surviving 2025 and 2026 as a Café Owner, we examine how ongoing volatility is impacting hospitality businesses from the inside.
In this episode, we focus on the customer. As living costs rise, spending habits are shifting. Customers may still be coming, but they are ordering differently. One coffee instead of two. Simpler menu items instead of premium dishes. Cafés are absorbing silent margin pressure while trying to remain supportive community spaces.
We explore the disconnect between what customers expect cafés to charge and the actual cost structure behind coffee, food, wages, rent, insurance, and utilities. Carol shares why hospitality is often perceived as charity, why small add-ons create hidden costs, and how emotional labor has become part of the café business model.
The conversation also unpacks hype culture in hospitality, from acai bowls to viral drinks, and why trend-driven traffic does not create long-term loyalty.
Connect with Carol Salloum and 3Tomatoes here:
https://www.instagram.com/3tomatoesau/
https://www.3tomatoescafe.com/