An eye-catching creative name can do a lot for your café.
Yes, you could do away with the brainstorming sessions and go with something simple like “Jim’s Coffee Shop” — but let’s be real, you won’t grab anybody’s attention that way.
When you choose a memorable name that potential customers couldn’t possibly forget, there’s more of a chance that they’ll visit — even if they aren’t the world’s biggest coffee connoisseur. Simply put, it’ll peak onlookers’ curiosities.
If you’re opening a coffee shop or considering a rebrand, use the 15 great names provided below for inspiration and direction.
Beans are Your Best Friend
Sometimes it’s best to travel the path of least resistance when looking for a clever name for your café. This is where beans come into play. Not only is it synonymous with coffee, but the word ‘bean’ is versatile and can be used in an array of ways.
Here are a few coffee shops who’ve done just that:
- Cool Beans (Fort Saint John, B.C., Canada): As a fun phrase used to describe something awesome and amazing, Cool Beans is a whimsical, simple, and welcoming coffee shop name. And we give it two thumbs up!
- Bean Around the World (Vancouver, B.C., Canada): Beyond being a fun play on words, this name establishes an international vibe, implying customers will be privy to coffees from all over the globe.
- Beantowne Coffee House (Boston, MA, USA): This is a tribute to Boston’s nickname. It’s smart for your shop’s name to play off its geography, whenever possible. Beantowne also wins points because the ‘e’ at the end gives off that old-time feel. Or, should we say olde-time feel.
Honorable mentions:
- The Family Bean (Toowoon Bay, Australia)
- Jumping Bean Café (Newfoundland, Canada)
- Friendly Bean Coffee Shop (Kansas City, MI, USA)
- Bean There Coffee (Cape Town, South Africa)
Embracing the Grind
Similar to beans, grounds aren’t just an integral part of coffee. They’re also an invaluable source of creative power when looking for the ideal coffee shop name.
As such, the following coffee shops decided the word ‘grind’ fit perfectly with their identity:
- Grindhouse Café (Griffith, IN, USA): First off, Grindhouse movies are trendy and hipster-adjacent. That’s ideal for any café located in a central hub. Secondly, the name was simply there for the taking. So, we give Grindhouse an 11 out of 10 on our unique scoring scale (yes, the name is beyond perfection).
- Ground Up Café (Carlsbad, CA, USA): Is this café name about the organic act of building something from nothing? Or, is it a really gory reference to horror films? Either way, we dig it. Kudos to the owners.
- The Grind Café (Trenton, ON, Canada): Here, we have a name that shows empathy towards every 9–5 working stiff who needs their daily cup-a-joe to break up the monotony of office life. It also insinuates that the employees of The Grind work painstakingly to produce the best cups of coffee on the market. Bravo for double meanings.
Honorable Mentions:
- Grinder’s Café (Wilmington, NC, USA)
- Bump N Grind Café (Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
Names that Just Work
Regardless of the technique or rhetorical device being used, your café’s name should flow naturally and provide that “ah ha” moment that clicks with everyone who happens to see it.
Just like these ones:
- Mean Mug Coffee Company (Salisbury, NC, USA): What we like about Mean Mug is the understated attitude. Does the barista hit customers with an icy glare when they serve up an Americano? Frankly, we can’t wait to find out.
- Democracy Coffee House (Hamilton, ON, Canada): Here is a simple coffee shop name without much flash but plenty of substance. Think it about. Democracy means that this is coffee made for the people, by the people. And that’s a beautiful thing.
- No Doze Café (Molino, FLA, USA): We all know coffee gives us that extra boost to keep going. But making it the main selling point of your blends is certainly a bold move. Calling your coffee shop ‘No Doze’ lets consumers you aren’t serving anything that could be mistaken for decaf. Instead, you serve coffee with cajones. And frankly, that’s downright respectable.
Names Aren’t a Game
If your coffee shop’s name isn’t engaging, you won’t get the foot traffic you need to succeed.
So, take the time, do the research, or even take a spiritual journey when figuring out the name for your café.
And once you have settled on a name? Make sure to create a digital stamp card with the help of Loopy Loyalty to retain all those new customers and have your brand sit alongside your customers’ credit cards in Apple Wallet and Google Pay.
