Since introducing its Gold Cafe concept in 2006, we’ve used Union National Community Bank ($492 mil) as an example in presentations and conversations dealing with non-traditional delivery channels. Rather than operating as a traditional bank branch, Gold Cafe was positioned as a cafe – with knowledgeable bankers serving coffee drinks to customers, much like we’ve seen with the ING Cafes.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania based bank’s initiatives caught the attention of many in the industry, and the concept made sense – especially as the first cafe-branch was positioned to serve the students and community around the Lancaster campus of the Harrisburg Area Community College. Because of its location near the campus, we’ve used the Gold Cafe as an example in some of our presentations highlighting examples of how institutions are targeting younger market segments.
In conducting some research for an upcoming presentation about Gen Y, I checked out the Gold Cafe website to see if any new developments had been made – and was surprised when the Gold Cafe url directed me to Union National Community Bank’s homepage. Gold Cafe used to have its own website with information specifically about the cafe. Now, the website isn’t available – and the UNCB homepage doesn’t link to, or make mention of the Gold Cafes anymore.
So, what happened? I can’t find any news online about the Gold Cafes closing, scaling back its operation, or reverting to more traditional bank branches.
In August 2007, a little more than a year after opening the first location, Mark Gainer, CEO of UNCB, was quoted in the Central Penn Business Journal as saying “I think there is general acceptance of them” and went on to discuss one of the challenges being customer/commuinty perceptions in “There is a little bit of confusion – is it a coffee shop or is it a bank?”
Further digging lead me to a blog called the Coffee Shop Journal, where discussion about the Gold Cafe included the comment on October 14, 2008:
“My wife and I went in yesterday afternoon around 3:00. The coffee counter was dark and the coffee machines were all covered with plastic tarps. No one was behind the counter and the lights in the seating area were dark. Instead, on the counter were two of those metal coffee dispensers, one labeled “Regular” and the other “Decaf” with a small stack of paper cups beside them. On the specials board they had written ‘TALK TO A MANAGER ABOUT OPENING AN ACCOUNT TODAY.’ Not really the coffee experience we were hoping for.”
With aggressive competition in both the coffee space (think Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts) and among local financial institutions, perhaps Gold Cafe is feeling pressures to emphasize banking over coffee. This is likely compounded by an economy where spending is watched more carefully.
So, what’s the deal with Gold Cafe? If you live in the Lancaster area and/or have any additional information, we’d like to hear from you.
[...] Financial Brand made some inquiries with UNCB about the status of Gold Cafés after Market Insights Insider ran an article suggesting UNCB’s cafés may be closed. Well, now it’s official. After [...]
My wife and I went in yesterday afternoon around 3:00. The coffee counter was dark and the coffee machines were all covered with plastic tarps. No one was behind the counter and the lights in the seating area were dark.
Instead, on the counter were two of those metal coffee dispensers, one labeled “Regular” and the other “Decaf” with a small stack of paper cups beside them.
On the specials board they had written “TALK TO A MANAGER ABOUT OPENING AN ACCOUNT TODAY.”
Not really the coffee experience we were hoping for.
http://eplacencia.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/why-even-promote-it/