Cafe owners create new haunts for night owls

Migu Coffee, located in the Xidan commercial area, has gone even further with midnight coffee consumption.

It is a 24-hour, double story all-in-one place opened by China Mobile in February, where customers can enjoy coffee, read or borrow books, have meetups, watch movies, and even sing in mini karaoke rooms.

"We want to not only build a place for office workers to relax in the evenings, but to also diversify the nightlife and let the good times never end," said Zhang Ye, head of Migu Coffee.

"For example, we play movies every Wednesday and Saturday evenings for those living in communities nearby."

Zhang added that the number of people who order coffee or other drinks online after 11 pm in the last three months has been rising, as the night business has been going strong.

Lyu Meng, who has spent many years in the cafe management business, said most coffee shops in Beijing are closed at either 7 or 8 pm, partly because the places where they are located do not allow them to open too late.

"Some cafe owners close early as they want to have their own lives in the evening," explained Lyu. "While some have to close early because their shops are located in shopping malls or office buildings where they have fixed closing times.

"But cafes in the city's major zones like Guloudajie, Xidan and Wudaoying are more suitable for night businesses, as there are still a lot of visitors in these areas in the evening and there are also a lot of office workers there," she added. "In other words, the commercial environment or cafe location is crucial for night consumption businesses."

Hong Tao, a professor specializing in business economics at Beijing Technology And Business University, said night consumption has turned out to be a trend across the country, with some governments in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, issuing guidelines or policies to promote the industry.

He highlighted the importance of sustainable development for night businesses, suggesting that entrepreneurs should try more creative ways to diversify their services.

Zhang, who runs the Big& Small Coffee chain, has also paid attention to this issue. She said the key lies in whether a cafe is able to take the initiative in guiding new consumption habits. "Entrepreneurs also need to change and try more new things to offer more options to our customers," she said.

Hu, owner of Hidden Hours, feels the way. "Midnight cafes or eateries offering customers a mixed menu of coffees and wines have their own market, and I'm optimistic about future development," he said.

"But ensuring customers' safety at night must also be taken into consideration."