Craftpine

Corner · Store study · July 2026 · Stoney Creek, Hamilton

520 Barton

Corner planned a store of its own here. Could an unattended store with no staff pay for itself on this corner? The study tested eight concepts against limits set before any money was spent.

Read the full study
On the web · 9 chapters, 4 appendicesDownload the PDF
59 pages · 11 MB
High aerial view of the Barton Street and Dewitt Road junction, with No. 520 and its lot at centre among houses and townhouses
Barton Street and Dewitt Road from the north-east, April 2025. No. 520 is the building at centre.

The site

A 90 by 160 foot lot on a signalized corner. The junction's published count is 21,000 or more vehicles a day. The study asked what the small structure at the back could carry.

Barton St EDewitt RdNo. 520: two storeys, three baysNo. 5202 storeysRear structure, 12 by 20 feetbillboard160 ft90 ftNrear structureRear structure, 12 × 20 ft.The subject of the study.No. 520: two storeys, three vehicle bays.Lot 90 × 160 ft, zoned C2.Signalized junction, 21,000+ vehiclesa day, as published.Billboard across the junction, 21,034impressions a day, as listed by its vendor.HSR bus routes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10.Barton St EDewitt RdNo. 520: two storeys, three baysNo. 520Rear structure, 12 by 20 feetbillboard160 ft90 ftNrearstructureRear structure, 12 × 20 ft: the subjectNo. 520: two storeys, three vehicle baysLot 90 × 160 ft, zoned C2Signalized junction, 21,000+ vehicles aday, as publishedBillboard: 21,034 impressions a day,as listed by its vendorHSR bus routes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10
Schematic, north up. Geometry from the 2007 Ontario Land Surveyor site plan of the parcel.

The corridor

Barton Street runs east toward the corner, with the lot on the right and the escarpment in the distance.

Aerial view along Barton Street toward the Dewitt Road junction, a digital billboard across the intersection and the escarpment behind
Aerial, April 2025.

The structure

The structure is 12 by 20 feet, behind the main building. Any store in it had to run with nobody working there.

The small rear structure with its dark roll-up door, across the rear lot at dusk
The rear lot at dusk, April 2025. The structure is the shed at centre.

Eight concepts, and what ended each

None of the eight survived. Each line gives what ended it and when.

  1. CPG micro-retailApr 30 → Jul 13Parked. Payment processing takes about 15% of a $2.50 basket, at any volume.
  2. Staffed bubble teaJul 13Rejected the same day it was proposed. It set the rule of no staff in store operations.
  3. Unattended bubble teaJul 13 → 14Pivoted. Tapioca needs a heated hold, the exact burden an unattended format cannot carry lightly.
  4. Unattended smoothieJul 14Killed. The one measured figure in the category is 6.8 cups a day, against a 12-cup floor. Capital of $26K to $37.6K pays back in 2.2 to 3.3 years, past the 24-month line. Better-funded operators ran it first and lost.
  5. Prepackaged cold drinksJul 13 → 14Passed every format test and was never falsified. It closed with the program and is the most revivable line.
  6. Venue-placed unitsJul 14Closed. Where these machines survive, venue service fees carry them, not cup margins.
  7. Private training venueJul 14Killed on paper, on the change-of-use permit and assembly-occupancy obligations.
  8. Micro officeundated → Jul 14Considered, then closed with the venue lines. The record holds no dated entry for it, and none is invented.
The concept record, as in the study's Figure 2.1. Every exit landed on July 13 or 14. The line in blue passed its own tests and closed with the program.

Demand

The best throughput anyone has published for an unattended fresh-drink machine is 6.8 cups a day. The smallest version of this plan needed 12.

036912Best published resultone kiosk, captive venue, 20236.8 cups a day, best published6.8 cups a daySmallest version of this planthe floor case it needed12 cups a day, needed12 cups a day04812Best published resultone kiosk, captive venue, 20236.8 cups a daySmallest version of this planthe floor case it needed12 cups a day
Zenblen's founder reported 2,500 smoothies from one kiosk in 2023. The floor case is from the study's unit model.

Payback

At 12 cups a day the two real builds pay back in 27 and 39 months. The study's limit was 24.

0122436months$26K buildsmallest real setup$26K build: first 24 months$26K build: 27 months, 2.2 years27 months, 2.2 years$37.6K buildsame, parts at the high end$37.6K build: first 24 months$37.6K build: 39 months, 3.3 years39 months, 3.3 years24-month limit0122436$26K build27 months, 2.2 years$37.6K build39 months, 3.3 years24-month limit
Contribution of $3.87 a cup and fixed costs of $450 a month, from the study's unit model.

What it cost

Venue capital spent was about zero. Nothing at the site was built, bought or permitted before the numbers closed it. The software the store would have run on is on Corner's page.

Low aerial view of No. 520 from the north, its two bays facing Barton Street and the Dewitt Road junction to the left
No. 520 from the north, April 2025.

Who tried first

Better-funded operators ran this experiment first. Briggo, with US$26 million of stock and note sales on file, was bought by Costa Coffee. Blendid, with about US$36 million paid in, now reports going-concern doubt.

Capital documented, US$ millionsWhere it stands010203040BlendidBlendid: US$36.0 million36.0Going-concern doubt, FY2025BriggoBriggo: US$26.0 million26.0Acquired by Costa Coffee, 2020ArtlyArtly: US$10.3 million10.3Going-concern doubt, FY2025Cafe XCafe X: US$9.7 million9.7Closed city stores, runs airport barsZenblenZenblen: US$4.6 million4.6Active, earns venue service feesBobacinoBobacino: US$3.5 million3.5Closed before it shippedTea Industriesnot disclosedOpened 2024, closed 2025Capital documented, US$ millionsBlendidUS$36.0MGoing-concern doubt, FY2025BriggoUS$26.0MAcquired by Costa Coffee, 2020ArtlyUS$10.3MGoing-concern doubt, FY2025Cafe XUS$9.7MClosed city stores, runs airport barsZenblenUS$4.6MActive, earns venue service feesBobacinoUS$3.5MClosed before it shippedTea Industriesnot disclosedOpened 2024, closed 2025
Capital from SEC filings, as cited in the study's Appendix D.

The full study

The full study runs to nine chapters and four appendices, and credits every source and photograph. This page is the short version.

Read the full study
On the web · 9 chapters, 4 appendicesDownload the PDF
59 pages · 11 MB