Why was a Maan Coffee store demolished overnight in Chongqing?

A Maan Coffee store at Chongqing Fuyuehui was reportedly demolished by the mall late at night. Equipment and furnishings disappeared, the decor was smashed, the entrance was barricaded, and posters for the next tenant were already up. The owner says the ten-year lease is only in its fifth year and that rent and utilities were always paid on time.

The owner called police and posted a notice promising to refund customers' prepaid balances. Some netizens are skeptical, recalling last year's Maan Coffee runaway incident in Beijing. The operator says the store had switched to independent operation and is no longer affiliated with the brand. Former tenants allege the mall has forcibly evicted tenants with unexpired leases before, and the mall has not responded.

Recently, the Maan Coffee store at Chongqing Fuyuehui was reportedly forcibly demolished by the mall late at night. The store's equipment and furnishings vanished overnight, the decor was smashed, the entrance was barricaded, and advertising posters for the next tenant had already been put up. The store owner claims to have signed a ten-year lease with the mall, currently only in its fifth year, and has always paid rent and utilities on time, never falling into arrears even during the pandemic. After the incident, the store owner called the police and posted a notice promising to refund customers' prepaid balances. However, some netizens, recalling last year's Maan Coffee runaway incident in Beijing, are skeptical of the poster's claims. The operator clarified that the store had switched to independent operation and is no longer affiliated with the brand. Furthermore, former tenants came forward alleging that the mall had forcibly evicted tenants with unexpired leases multiple times. The incident continues to escalate, and the mall has yet to respond.

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Recently, a Chongqing netizen posted on social media, claiming that the Maan Coffee store at Chongqing Fuyuehui was demolished by the mall in the middle of the night without authorization.

According to the poster, when they arrived in the morning to open the store for work, they found the entire coffee shop completely transformed overnight. The coffee machines, cash registers, and other equipment, as well as tables, chairs, and furnishings, had vanished, and the interior decor had been smashed to pieces. The entrance facing the interior of the mall was barricaded, and advertising posters for the next tenant had already been put on display.

An elegant two-story café reduced to a chaotic, unfinished shell overnight—this sudden turn of events left both regular customers and coffee workers incredulous.

The poster stated that the store had signed a 10-year lease with the mall, currently in its fifth year, not yet expired. Throughout its operation, the store had always paid rent, utilities, and related fees on time; even during the grueling pandemic, the operator had never been in arrears on any payment. Yet the mall, without prior notice, removed the store's furnishings and forcibly demolished the decor—an operation that is truly incomprehensible.

After the incident, the store owner immediately chose to call the police and temporarily posted a notice on the wooden renovation panels and barricade ads outside the store, explaining the situation to consumers and stating that once the cash register equipment and system removed by the mall are recovered, they will refund users' prepaid balances as soon as possible. Another informed source revealed that after receiving the report, police arrived at the scene to understand the situation and contact the operator and the mall for negotiation, but no specific resolution has been reached.

After the post was published, many netizens, though shocked by this Maan Coffee store's experience, did not fully believe the poster's accusations. Some pointed out that last year a Maan Coffee store in Beijing was evicted by a shopping mall for failing to pay rent and other fees on time and fled overnight. So in their view, the sudden demolition of the Maan Coffee store in Chongqing might have another story behind it.

In response, the operator explained that although the store was originally a franchise of the Maan Coffee chain, it later switched to independent operation and is no longer associated with the brand. As for the store's business condition, staff said that although the store did not often see a packed house, quite a few consumers came to visit and take photos, and the store occasionally hosted gatherings for fan groups. From this perspective, the coffee shop's operations had always been stable.

Meanwhile, as the post gained traction, former tenants of the mall appeared in the comments section, speaking up for the coffee shop with their personal experiences. They said that the mall in question had forcibly evicted tenants with unexpired leases more than once—hot pot restaurants, accessory shops, and even chain brand Costa stores had all experienced forced demolition by the mall and had to "vanish at light speed."

Several former tenants said that because the mall suddenly breached the contract, their stores could not operate and suffered heavy losses, so they sued their landlord in court, seeking a reasonable explanation and financial compensation. Onlookers also suggested that the operator, in addition to reporting to the local police station, should also safeguard their rights through legal channels and recover the store's losses.

As of press time, the mall has not responded to the coffee shop's accusations in the post. However, passersby noticed that the notice temporarily written by the merchant on the barricade had been painted over in white, leaving no trace of its original appearance.

Image source: Screenshot from the internet

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