Why Did This Coffee Store in Ningbo Shut Down?

The Tims Coffee store in Ningbo Tianyi Square closed after business on February 28, 2025, ending a run of nearly four years. It opened on April 30, 2021, as the brand's first coffee store in Ningbo. Regular customers visited to take photos, and the square confirmed the closure and said it is in talks with other brands.

Observers cited high rent and heavy competition inside the commercial district as likely reasons, while some customers worried about Tims' other Ningbo locations. The store had become a local fixture for remote work and study, busy on weekends. Its exit adds to ongoing discussion about how chain coffee culture and neighborhood coffee store habits shift as leases and rivals change.

Recently, the Tims Coffee store located in Ningbo Tianyi Square officially closed. As the brand's first store in Ningbo, it had been operating for nearly four years since opening in April 2021. Once the news broke, many regular customers rushed to the store to take photos as mementos, while discussions about the reasons for the closure continued to brew online. Some speculated that high rent and fierce brand competition within the commercial district were the main causes, while others worried about the operating conditions of Tims' other stores in Ningbo. This article sorts through the entire process of the store from opening to closing, and summarizes various views from consumers and industry insiders, taking you through the whole story.

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According to multiple media reports including Ningbo Daily, the Tims Coffee located in Tianyi Square has officially ceased operations.

This store opened its doors on April 30, 2021, and was the first Tims store in Ningbo. Many local residents still remember the bustling scene on opening day—the entrance was packed with customers who came to check in, and many can still recall the classic Fresh Brew coffee they ordered at the time.

Over time, this store gradually became a regular haunt for nearby residents. Some came with laptops to work, and students chose to study here. Even on weekdays with relatively sparse foot traffic, passersby recall that the store was never short of customers; on weekends, finding a seat sometimes required waiting a while.

However, in less than four years, this Tims store, filled with the aroma of coffee and baked bread, suddenly posted a closure notice on its door, catching many customers off guard. The notice stated that due to business adjustments, Tims' first Ningbo store would officially close after the end of business on February 28, 2025. Reporters subsequently sought confirmation from Tianyi Square, which confirmed the closure information and learned that the square is in talks with other brands about moving in.

Upon learning that the first Ningbo store was about to close, regular customers expressed their reluctance to see it go: "I went on the first day the Tianyi store opened, never thought it wouldn't survive," "I just went for a coffee this month," "I order delivery often, can't believe it's closing." Many loyal customers made special trips to the store, buying a cup of coffee and a bagel, capturing with their cameras what the store looked like on its last day.

A reporter noticed while waiting for their order that order processing was noticeably slower than usual. After asking staff, they learned that the kitchen currently had only one employee handling all orders, which slowed down the pace of service.

While expressing regret, onlookers also heatedly discussed the reasons for the closure. Most speculated that the store, being in a prominent location and quite large, must have had high rent, and that after the lease between the brand and Tianyi Square expired, Tims assessed that the store's profitability could not cover the high rent, ultimately choosing to close the store to cut losses.

Some also believed that in addition to rent pressure, the competitive environment around Tianyi Square may have been one of the factors prompting Tims' exit. They pointed out that the commercial district currently offers a rich variety of coffee brands, including top-tier brands like Starbucks and Peet's, as well as budget-friendly options like Luckin and Manner. By comparison, Tims, with insufficient product innovation and no advantage in value for money, struggled to stand out among its peers. Therefore, in the eyes of regular customers, Tims giving up this store was understandable.

As of now, Tims' directly-operated stores in Ningbo have shrunk to 13. Although these still-operating stores have not yet been reported to be closing, some consumers have noted that "the air conditioning at the one in Baolong hasn't really been turned on since the second half of last year," which makes people worry whether the operating conditions of other Tims stores are also less than optimistic.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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