Where did the arabica first store in Vietnam open?

%Arabica opened its first Vietnam store inside Ho Chi Minh City's Cafe Apartment at 42 Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street, on the building's fourth floor. The branch debuted on a Sunday at 2:00 PM. The interior keeps the brand's minimalist look, using white tones with wooden doors and windows and Vietnamese-style details, and the % logo is visible from the street.

The apartment building dates to the mid-20th century and served as government offices and a U.S. military station before becoming housing in 1975; a 2015 renovation turned it into a cluster of cafes known as The Cafe Apartment. %Arabica now runs 123 stores worldwide and plans entries into South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Opening a café in a commercial district is nothing unusual, but placing a store inside an old apartment building in the heart of a bustling area is a rare approach. Recently, %Arabica announced that its first Vietnam branch has officially opened in Ho Chi Minh City's famous Cafe Apartment, located on the fourth floor of the building. Built in the mid-20th century, the old building has served as a government office, a U.S. military station, and private residences. After renovation in 2015, it gathered numerous uniquely styled cafés, becoming a local cultural hotspot. %Arabica's arrival not only continues the brand founder Kenneth Shoji's philosophy of "See the World Through Coffee," but also marks a further acceleration of its global expansion. Currently, the brand has 123 stores worldwide and plans to enter markets such as South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines.

It is already commonplace for coffee chains to open stores in commercial districts of major cities, but opening a shop in an old apartment building in a bustling area is something I've never heard of before. What exactly makes this old building so special?

Recently, the well-known coffee brand %Arabica announced through its official account that its first store in the Vietnamese market is located in Ho Chi Minh City's The Cafe Apartment, on the fourth floor of the building, and will officially open this Sunday at 2:00 PM.

From the promotional photos released first, some details of this branch can be seen: the interior continues %Arabica's consistent minimalist design approach. The decor is mainly in pure white tones, combined with wooden door and window structures and decorative touches featuring Vietnamese style. Standing outside the apartment building, the % logo can be prominently seen, and it is expected to attract a large number of travelers making special trips to check in after opening.

This apartment building is located at 42 Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in Ho Chi Minh City and was built in the mid-20th century. It initially served successively as offices for Vietnamese government departments and the U.S. military, and in 1975 was renovated into private residences for government personnel. By 2015, it underwent renovation again, gathering a large number of cafés with vastly different styles, hence the name "The Cafe Apartment."

The entire building has no unified planning or decoration, and the stairwells are filled with a mottled "sense of historical vicissitude," but each shop fully unleashes its creativity, turning the interiors and balconies into distinctive visual spaces, giving each grid a unique view. When night falls, the illuminated decorations create yet another scenery. Just like that, a once dilapidated old building transformed into a "check-in mecca" for artsy youth.

Vietnam is now the world's second-largest coffee producer, and coffee has long been integrated into locals' daily lives, with a very strong coffee-drinking culture. From Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, cafés large and small are scattered in every corner of the city, and scenes of people leisurely reading newspapers while drinking coffee can be seen everywhere. %Arabica's entry into Vietnam's coffee market this time also aligns with founder Kenneth Shoji's motto: "See the World Through Coffee." As %Arabica continues to expand around the world, the golden world map—a standard feature in every store—will also convey the brand philosophy to more and more coffee lovers.

Currently, %ARABICA has 123 stores worldwide, and its pace of expansion has not stopped. Last year, the brand successively opened its first stores in Bangkok, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; and Taiwan, China. According to official brand news, in addition to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a Toronto branch in Canada is also in heated preparation. In the Chinese mainland market, %ARABICA's expansion speed has also accelerated, with the latest information showing that its first Lhasa store is being planned. %ARABICA officials also revealed their "ambition" for expanding branches, planning to enter countries and regions such as South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, Egypt, and Italy. It is believed that in the future, the figure of this percentage symbol will appear in more cities.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.