The owner of the cafe rated “best brunch in Brighton” has been flooded with support after responding to a “confrontational” customer who claimed £4 for a latte was too much.
Tony Marks, who runs Starfish & Coffee on the corner of Egremont Place, has broken down the cost of the coffee, showing how he only receives a 32p (10% profit margin).
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Tony said: “We’re always looking for ways to try and keep costs down for our customers. However, last week a customer approached me in the cafe to say that £4 for a latte was too much. The way she addressed it was quite confrontational and caught me off guard. I attempted to explain why our pricing is where it’s at, but she wasn’t really interested in listening and told me that while she liked the cafe, other places don’t charge as much, and wouldn’t be coming back.
“This affected me for the rest of the day, as I wanted to explain that we really don’t make much net profit from a cup of coffee, and also that the quality of coffee can vary hugely from place to place.”
Tony shared this story and the breakdown of costs with people who receive his rewards newsletter, and said We Love Brighton could share his thoughts, when we reached out to him.
He continued: “It’s impossible to break down our total overheads directly to coffee when we sell a range of products, but this explains where £4 goes when you pay your bill.
“80p of it is on 20% VAT and goes to HMRC – the average VAT rate across Europe in hospitality venues is 8-12%, only Denmark has a higher rate, but that’s a conversation for another day.
“That leaves us with £3.20. So from here it breaks down like this…
“£1.28 (40%) goes on wages, including holiday pay, national insurance & pension contributions.
“83p (26%) is cost of goods. This means the money we pay our local suppliers for coffee beans, raw ingredients for brunch dishes, etc.
“77p (24%) is spent on the rest of our overheads including energy bills, rent, rates, insurance, accountancy costs, bank fees, corporation tax, cleaning products, maintenance, equipment, internet, PRS/PPL licence to play music, various subscriptions and nice plates. There’s a lot more, but you get the point.
“That leaves the business (aka me, Tony) with 32p (10% profit margin) on that £4 cup of coffee.
“This is based on our 2024/25 accounts. We’re being squeezed even harder in this financial year but I’m hoping we can maintain our margin.
“Everyone knows the price of coffee, but the value of coffee is even more important.”
Starfish & Coffee is a small business. The cafe, which topped the list of Time Out’s best brunch spots in Brighton, currently has several special offers, including £10 Tuesday, 2 For 1 Wednesday, Double Points Thursday & Fridays.
After a positive response from newsletter subscribers, Tony decided to share the story on social media. He said: “Just to be clear, the customer wasn’t being nasty but it was confrontational and without empathy for the difficulties of running a small business. The interaction made me realise that most people just don’t understand why we charge what we do, and that the quality of coffee can vary hugely.”
One Instagram user said: “How people can approach a local business in a confrontational way is just not ok. Your coffee and food and atmosphere is wonderful. The world is so expensive and you have broken this down in such an articulate way. You and your staff are grafters and keep starfish what it is today…. Part of the community.”
Another said: “I get that £4 is too much for some folk but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fair price given the state and cost of everything! You’ve explained this all so well. Keep going.”
Skylark Coffee, which supplies the cafe, wrote on Instagram: “You folks are smashing it. Forever rooting for you and all small bizz owners alike. It’s super tough out there!”
Address: 32 Egremont Place, Brighton BN2 0GA
