how to set up a coffee news layout ?

I would like to respond to a few points you made here:

[quote=remipub;22629]Excuse me if this gets long - I have a fair amount of experience on this one...

A few thoughts on how to make it a better value ... if you look at CN, it's not very attractive (which is probably in part why they don't sell that well). Another problem is it's a display ad that cannot be removed from the restaurant. That means most people will glance at it and forget about it once the meal arrives. Simple black and white ads, mixed in with black and white text are not going to garner attention and potential advertisers will be less than impressed.
I completely disagree, a simple single color ad gets plenty of attention if it is well-designed. I dont think adding color to the ad causes a reader to suddenly recall that ad when their meal is finished. There is a lot more to it than that.

Ok, I should charge for these suggestions! But hey, it's a good cause!
Some ways to make it more compelling...
Consider having some "shells" printed in full color. Shells are pages that are pre-printed in volume and in a format where you can just add the new content each month - or however often you publish. The alternative is to have them printed in color on a digital printer (color copier) each time. Don't underestimate the selling power of color. Again, (with all respect) color is not what sells. The opposite is often true...simple sells. Small businesses today are looking for ways to get their name out any way possible..on a TIGHT budget. Sure, full color looks really pretty..but you have to pass that additional cost on to your customer. Now suddenly you are not the best deal in town. And THAT is the selling point of free weekly papers. They promote small businesses that otherwise couldnt afford to advertise.

...One way to mix it up is to solicit input from the readers. People LOVE to see their work in print! Create a contest with some kind of prize for user submissions. A great prize could be a gift certificate to the restaurant where they are eating - the restaurant might even give you this for free. You will find that the non-portable nature of the newsletter will create some major objections. - Not sure this is the safest approach. When locals provide your content, you quickly lose control of your image. And that is one of the hardest things to establish and maintain. Some local expert (reader) providing
content can easily blow up in your face....false information, opinions, etc. Very risky approach in a business where peoples opinion of your product pays your bills (or not).

[i]Almost forgot ... as for programs to use for layout. First of all I think you're better off paying someone to design them for you - especially if you don't have design experience. Poorly designed ads will kill your business fast, plus if you do this right, you'll want to dedicate more than full time to selling. If you do decide to do the layout and you're doing more than just copying and pasting business cards, you're going to need more than one program. We use the Adobe Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc.), but there are less expensive options out there - especially if you're going to run them on a digital copier. Some design elements you would ideally create with a drawing program (Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc.), some with Photoshop - especially if there will be pictures, and a page layout program puts all the pieces in their place (InDesign, Quark, Publisher, etc.) Although if you're going to be serious, I would steer you away from Publisher ... it's not very printer friendly.[i]

Can't help myself....again I totally disagree. You need two programs. These will set you back less than $130 total if you buy them brand new off the shelf. Photoshop Elements and Microsoft Publisher will do EVERYTHING necessary for this business and they are both completely printer friendly. Anything more expensive is overkill. They are simple to learn and easy to use. As far as hiring a person to do the layout / design? HUGE mistake! You dont make money in this business (at least a first) by paying others to do work you can do yourself! ANYBODY can layout a professional looking weekly paper. Yes, you will be busy but the way to succeed in this business is to NOT spend money paying someone else to do it. You design the paper. You sell the ads. You deliver the paper. You succeed and make a nice living. It really works...but steer clear of bad advice..its everywhere