What Does the Story About Coffee at Bear Paw's First Store Show?

Bear Paw Coffee's first shop on Yongkang Road in Shanghai has cooled. Peak daily sales of 700 to 1,000 cups have fallen to 100 to 200 cups, and the furry bear paw no longer reaches out from the hole in the dark gray wall. The store remains open, though visitors sometimes mistake the quiet front for a closure.

The shop opened in the winter of 2000 and serves coffee through a hole in the wall, with most staff being people with disabilities. That model, built for employees with social anxiety, drew long queues and media attention. Four years on, the brand has expanded, taken financing, and closed some locations while keeping its public-welfare mission, a story about coffee that mixes growth with persistence.

Once upon a time, a furry bear paw reaching out from a hole in a dark gray wall on Yongkang Road in Shanghai warmed countless hearts. This first Bear Paw Coffee shop, staffed mainly by people with disabilities, quickly became famous for its unique way of serving coffee and its public welfare philosophy, with daily sales reaching 700 to 1,000 cups at its peak. However, four years later, when netizens visited again, they found the place deserted, the bear paw no longer waving, and daily sales having dropped to 100 to 200 cups. From financing and expansion to closing stores in multiple locations, from public welfare recognition to persevering in business, the story of Bear Paw Coffee reflects the ups and downs and persistence of an internet-famous brand amid the tides of the market. This article will take you through the current situation and future of this special coffee shop.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

In the winter of 2000, a unique coffee shop opened on Yongkang Road in Shanghai. The outer wall of the shop was painted dark gray, with an irregular small hole in it. After customers placed their orders, a furry bear paw would reach out from the hole and hand the prepared coffee to them.

The unique storefront design and ingenious way of serving coffee drew widespread attention and discussion when Bear Paw Coffee first opened. According to subsequent media reports, most of the employees at this store were people with disabilities. Due to physical limitations, many of them had social anxiety and were unwilling to communicate directly with customers face to face, so this special reception model came into being.

This warm story in the cold winter naturally moved many consumers, who lined up to buy coffee, hoping to use their own modest efforts to support this group of special baristas.

Four years have passed, and recently a netizen who made a special trip to Yongkang Road to check in discovered that the entrance of this once internet-famous coffee shop had become quiet and deserted. The bear paw no longer reached out from the hole in the wall to interact with passersby; instead, it was blocked off. The netizen initially thought Bear Paw Coffee had already closed down, but after posting a question, learned it was a misunderstanding — the store was still open, only the netizen had arrived too late, after business hours had ended for the day.

However, according to nearby residents, perhaps because the surrounding environment has changed, Bear Paw Coffee today is no longer as popular as when it first opened, and the lively scene of long lines waiting for coffee is hard to find again. Someone once passed by and saw the bear paw reaching out from the hole, continuously waving at pedestrians, but only a few people stopped to place orders.

The manager of Bear Paw Coffee also admitted that the store's current situation is not ideal: "When business was at its best, the Yongkang Road store could sell 700 to 1,000 cups a day; now it can only sell about 100 to 200 cups a day." The sharp drop in sales has put considerable pressure on store operations, but the manager said the landlord has given great support, and they will not give up easily and will continue to keep the store open.

It is understood that after completing its Series A financing in 2022, Bear Paw Coffee announced it would invest 20 million yuan to open 100 stores in the first half of 2023. The brand also expanded to Nanjing, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and other places, but these stores closed one after another within less than half a year of opening. Data from Narrow Door Restaurant Eye shows that the brand currently has only 12 stores left, including 11 in Shanghai and 1 in Jiangxi.

Changes in the market environment have dealt Bear Paw Coffee a considerable blow, but thanks to its own public welfare nature, the brand has gained recognition from departments such as the Disabled Persons' Federation and from all sectors of society, and some caring enterprises have also provided support in areas such as store rent. Because of this, although Bear Paw Coffee has gone through a trough, it has still been able to survive and continue to help more people with disabilities.

According to a report by The Paper, more than 90% of Bear Paw Coffee's current employees are people with disabilities, covering groups such as the visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically disabled, people with albinism, and people with autism. Recently, the brand also opened its first barista store for people with physical disabilities. In addition to serving drinks, the store also offers barista career experience for people with disabilities, hoping in this way to help participants solve employment difficulties.

In addition, the operators of Bear Paw Coffee revealed that they are currently preparing to open 3 stores in Shanghai. In the future, the brand will also seek more store-opening plans, hoping to help at least 10,000 people with disabilities solve employment problems, giving them the confidence to step out of their homes, connect with society, integrate into society, and usher in a better life.

Image source: Internet

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the Internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be individual images or texts that have not yet been credited. Please understand. If the original author has any disputes, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

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