The Caf Plus Concept

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Creating An Ageless Place for Older Adults with
Retail Appeal

• The Café Plus Concept
• August 27, 2009

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Mather LifeWays

• Mather LifeWays is a unique
  not-for-profit organization. We enhance the lives
  of older adults through lifestyle and residential
  alternatives that create Ways to Age Well.

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Ways to Age Well

• Senior Residences
• Institute on Aging
• Community Initiatives

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Community Initiatives

• Founded as a way to increase our ability to serve
  older adults
• Designs services and programs to help
  neighborhoods become better places to live, work,
  learn and play.

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Café Plus Concept

• It starts with a cup of coffee-and from there the
  possibilities are endless.

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Café Plus Services

• Centered around reasonably priced food and a
  friendly atmosphere.
• A one-stop-shop where customers can get all they
  need food, friendship, fun.

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Starbucks Experience

• -Not a coffee company
• -Americas Living Room, Third Places, Being
  Spaces
• -Eased problem of social disconnection by
  offering somewhere to just hang out
• -Filled need for public gathering spot
• -Social glue coffee
• (Psychology Today, September/October 2007, p.
  99-102)

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A Restorative Place

• Cafe Plus servicescape features the necessary
  stimuli that are required to facilitate personal
  restoration and promote relief from symptoms
  associated with mental fatigue.

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Two Lenses of Aging

• Challenges
• Services and support that help people with
  encountered frailty
• Opportunity
• Services and programs that help people take
  maximum advantage of time in retirement.

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Goals

• Change way society thinks about older adults
• Change way older adults view themselves

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Engagement

• What it is
• Focus on people as individuals

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Supportive Research

• Social activities found to prolong life.
• (Thomas Glass, Harvard School of Public Health,
  1999)
• Social engagement has an independent influence
  on how long we live. (Robert D. Putnam, Bowling
  Alone, 2000)

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Potential Benefits

• Attract the 50 market
• Redefine senior living
• Establish collaborative
• partnerships in community

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Awards
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Location Considerations

• Location
• Street visibility
• Familiarity/reputation
• Accessibility
• Existing foot traffic

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Space Needs

• Ageless design
• Creating the space
• Computer Lab
• Other areas

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Conference Rooms become computer labs.
Lounges become the perfect place for exercise
classes and lectures.
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Build-Out Considerations

• Acoustics
• Natural light
• Computer wiring/plug-ins

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Culinary Delights
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Remember, its a Restaurant!

• Food brings people together
• Choice is key
• Open to the community

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Menu

• Regular
• Specials
• Added touches

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Make the More Count
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The Experience Economy
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The Experience Economy

• Work is theatre and every business is a stage.
• Move beyond providing services to customers to
  providing experiences

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• Commodities are extracted from the ground,
  products are made, services are delivered,
  experiences are staged, and transformations are
  guided

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Coffee Progression
Transformation
Experiences
Services
Goods
Commodities
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Hire from the Heart
Train for the Task
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Adaptations

• Senior Centers
• Senior Living Communities
• Hospitals
• Special populations (homeless, Centers for
  Working Families, LGBT)
• Community Centers

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Where friendships begin
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Café Plus in Japan!

• Nagoya City, Japan
• Yu-Yu Chiteki is a Café modeled on Café Plus
• http//www.yuyuchiteki.com/

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• Campbell Street Café, Valparaiso, IN
• Part of a CCRC.
• http//www.pinesvillage.org/campbell_st.html

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• Tanglewood Park in Muskegon, MI
• www.tanglewoodpark.info

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Tanglewood Café
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Carries Café (Lifecare Alliance) in Columbus,
Ohio
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Adaptation of Café Plus to the Congregate Program
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Adaptation

• Subcontractor to senior center
• Senior center has actual grant with AAA
• Adaptations were done in team effort with senior
  center/café so invisible to customer

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Congregate Adaptation

• Main goal remove stigma from program
• Focus messaging, communications, the menu, and
  payment process

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Tactics

• Renamed to Meet and Eat
• Defined program as nutrition program with a
  discount for older adults
• Redid the rules w/AAA approval
• Improved application process
• Provided choices

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Tactics (cont.)

• Contribution into locked box or to cashier
  (3.75)
• Communication to cooks
• Trays delivered just like regular customers
• No reservations or set time

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Results

• Made headway in removing stigma
• For folks not wanting financial help can order
  off regular menu
• Seemless integration of congregate and regular
  customers

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Results

• Averaging 68 congregate diners/day plus 20
  regular customers.
• In 2005 at inception, 14 congregate diners/day
  plus 1-2 regular

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Café Plus Workshops

• October 21-22
• 975 (includes toolkit)
• Contact
• Elizabeth Sassen
• Mather LifeWays
• 1603 Orrington Avenue, Ste. 1800
• Evanston, Illinois 60201
• [phone]
• bsassen_at_matherlifeways.com