Hortense Kouadio manages a coffee kiosk
which is styled like a big red cup. It
is referred to locally as ‘La Tasse
Rouge’. She opens for business at 6am
each morning, except for Sundays.
"I
like the arrangement," says Hortense.
"The company supplies me with soluble
coffee and milk each month. It is a
well-known international brand, but
produced here in the country. In
addition, they give me this eye-catching
kiosk. It’s hard not to notice me if you
live or work in the area."
Each
day Hortense and her niece Chantelle
serve coffee to their customers. They
are charging 100CFA for a cup of plain,
black coffee, and 150CFA for coffee with
milk. The money they make from these
sales is theirs to keep.
After
some time, their coffee customers also
started to ask for other things to buy.
Hortense started to serve sandwiches.
The price of these varies between 100CFA
and 500CFA. Each day they sell about 80
baguettes, some time ago they were even
selling as many as 120 each day.
Business is picking up again now, albeit
slowly.
"Most
of our customers are commuters on their
way to or from the bus terminal. And
students – more and more students are
drinking coffee. We serve our customers
at tables shaded by umbrellas. We also
serve take-away coffee, but I prefer it
when our customers drink their coffee
here. Then I can encourage them to have
one of my delicious sandwiches! I
prepare all my food at home and bring it
to work each morning."
