Is coffee shop location still tied to city foot traffic?
A 36-year-old man surnamed Wu has opened a coffee shop inside a wild mountain cave near the Louming Cliff tunnel entrance in Beiye Town, Xin'an County, Luoyang, Henan. He reported the plan to the local town government and received approval, and says the construction did not damage rocks or vegetation. A video of the opening, complete with firecrackers, drew widespread online attention.
The site sits by a small river with a large bridge overhead. Wu plans to install an unmanned coffee vending machine for quiet periods and hire staff only when customer numbers rise. Most cafes still open in core urban areas, commercial streets, near universities or offices, so this cave setup runs against the usual boutique cafe logic of high foot traffic.
Coffee shops are usually opened in city centers or places with heavy foot traffic, but a man in Xin'an County, Luoyang, Henan, has opened his shop in a wild mountain cave. In August this year, 36-year-old Mr. Wu was driving past the area near the Louming Cliff tunnel entrance in Beiye Town when he was drawn by the natural scenery and came up with the idea of opening a coffee shop there. He said he had reported it to the local town government and received approval, and that the construction did not damage rocks or vegetation. As for operations, he plans to place an unmanned coffee vending machine there when there are few customers, and hire someone to manage it only when there are many. The video sparked heated discussion, with some curious, some joking, and others questioning his true purpose and environmental issues.
When choosing a location for a coffee shop, priority is generally given to core urban areas or places with high foot traffic, such as commercial streets, areas around universities, near office buildings, and street-facing spots in residential neighborhoods. These locations are convenient for transportation and make it easier to attract different types of consumers.
Generally speaking, a cafe may open on the ground floor of a modern building, or stand side by side with small shops such as bookstores and boutiques, forming street-facing storefronts of various styles. Some cafes also choose locations near parks or green spaces, providing customers with extra leisure space so they can enjoy coffee while also getting close to nature. In short, cafes often play an important resting role in urban life, offering people a place to relax and socialize.
However, there are exceptions to everything, and there are always some coffee shops in the world located in unexpected places. Recently, a video attracted widespread attention online, showing a man setting off firecrackers outside a wild cave in Xin'an County, Luoyang, Henan, to celebrate the opening of his coffee shop.
From the video, a coffee shop sign had already been hung at the cave entrance. The surroundings of the cave are beautiful, with a small river flowing in front of the entrance and a large bridge spanning above it. The owner and construction workers were busy carrying various pieces of equipment and renovating and remodeling the interior of the cave.
Why open a coffee shop in a cave? A media reporter contacted the coffee shop owner, Mr. Wu. Mr. Wu said the cave is located near the Louming Cliff tunnel entrance in Beiye Town, Xin'an County. In August this year, while driving past, he was attracted by the natural scenery here, saw that there happened to be a cave, and came up with the idea of opening a shop there. Mr. Wu wanted to open a shop with a unique style. After immediately ruling out many traditional types of shops, he thought of a coffee shop.
Regarding the legality of the location, which netizens were concerned about, Mr. Wu explained that this cave coffee shop had already been reported to the local town government and approved, and that the current construction has not damaged the surrounding rocks, vegetation, or other environmental elements. The local government said that the cave coffee shop had indeed been reported and, as a cultural tourism project in the town, belongs to an individual development project.
Speaking of the coffee shop's future operations, Mr. Wu said that he is 36 years old this year and currently mainly does live streaming of oil painting, and that he had never run a coffee shop before. As for how this cave coffee shop will be operated in the future, he plans that if there are not many customers, he will put an unmanned coffee vending machine in the cave, where customers can scan a code to pay by themselves and the machine will automatically dispense coffee. Only if customer traffic is high will he hire someone specifically to handle operations.
The video of this cave coffee shop sparked heated discussion among netizens: some wondered whether anyone would normally come to such a remote place; some joked that opening a coffee shop in a cave is great, because when villagers are tired from work, they can order an Americano; some, still childlike at heart, asked whether the shop provides ropes, and whether they can drink coffee while swinging around like a monkey; and some lamented that coffee shops nowadays are opening in increasingly hidden places, as if they are afraid we will find them. Everyone is full of curiosity and imagination about the coffee shop's unconventional decision to open in a cave.
Of course, some netizens also questioned that opening a so-called coffee shop in such a remote cave is not really about selling coffee, but only about attracting traffic; other netizens pointed out that opening a coffee shop in a cave requires attention to protecting the surrounding environment and sustainable ecological development, ensuring that coffee grounds do not pollute the environment, and also controlling the noise of the coffee machine, so as not to disturb the cave's originally natural ecological environment.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
