把咖啡馆开在机场跑道旁，杭州这家小店开业5天走红，带娃家长直呼：太爽了Opening the coffee shop next to the airport runway, this small shop in Hangzhou became popular after 5 days of operation, and parents with children exclaimed: it's so exciting

Qianjiang Evening News

Every two or three minutes, a plane will fly past the store entrance, either soaring into the sky or slowly descending.

This experience is so novel! Opening the caf é next to the airport runway is enough to be a gimmick, "said Zhao Chong, a 39 year old resident of Hangzhou, with a smile.

More than two months ago, he rented the first floor space of the observation deck at Zhedong Village Airport in Xiaoshan District and decided to build a tea caf é.

After a series of tedious procedures such as renovation, learning coffee skills, and obtaining licenses, Zhao Chong's "Guanqi Tea Coffee" finally officially opened for business during the May Day holiday.

A coffee shop located by the airport runway. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

In just five days, this caf é located adjacent to the north runway of Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport quickly became popular on social media due to its unique geographical location.

On May 5th, a reporter from Tide News visited this caf é that allows people to experience the charm of aircraft takeoff and landing up close.

Open a coffee shop under the airport observation deck

Parents taking their children to see planes: It's so exciting

The location where the tea caf é is located is an airplane observation deck built in Zheshan Village, Xiaoshan. This observation deck has been in use for a long time.

It is located at both ends of the north runway of the airport, east and west of Happiness Wing Park (another observation park next to Xiaoshan Airport), and the viewing angles of the two are very different, "said Mr. Huang, a senior pilot. The observation deck in Zheshan Village is closer to the runway, at the starting position of the east end of the north runway and facing the airport terminal. Not only can you see the taxiing process of the plane taking off and landing, but you can also see the taxiing process of the plane heading to the terminal building

The observation deck on the rooftop of the caf é offers a close-up view of airplanes. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

However, this observation deck also has its disadvantages. Compared to Happiness Wing Park, it is further away from the main road and located further away, with the observation deck almost surrounded by farmland. During holidays, we come here to take pictures of airplanes, and sometimes we have to stay for the whole day. It's not good to take out food here. When we come, we have to bring our own drinks and food, "said Xiao Zhang, a high school airplane enthusiast. During the May Day holiday, he came here and found that there were many coffee shops, which he thought were very good. There is also air conditioning in the store. It's been a bit hot these past few days, so we even took a ride on the air conditioning

At noon, Mr. Xu, a citizen, "sneaked" into the coffee shop and ordered two cups of iced Americano. This shop is really 'life-saving', "Mr. Xu said with a smile.

Airplane observation deck scenery. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

Mr. Xu and his son are both airplane enthusiasts. During holidays, they go to various airports to take pictures of airplanes. Although it's not too hot, after standing on the observation deck all morning, I'm still sweating profusely, "Mr. Xu said. With this caf é, taking photos of airplanes is not afraid of heat or sun exposure.

There are still many 'good goods' captured this morning, including the deep blue painted Boeing 787 launched by Hainan Airlines and InterContinental Hotels, as well as the domestically produced C919 large aircraft of Air China. ”Feiyou Xiaozhang excitedly said that during the morning's surveillance, many big shots were taken.

Opened for 5 days, very popular

The operation challenge of a coffee shop that can see airplanes is not small

The observation deck is open to the public for free, and what we are considering now is how to convert the flow of people on the observation deck into the flow of people in the store, "Zhao Chong said. There are many people coming to see the plane, but the proportion of people coming to the store for consumption has not yet reached the expected level before opening the store.

However, he was not discouraged either. The store has just opened, and consumer habits and reputation need to be cultivated and accumulated

Before opening a coffee shop, Zhao Chong worked in the fresh food industry for many years. I want to change my way of life, "he said. At first, he thought of opening a rice paddy coffee shop in the village and then setting up a campsite. However, many venues were selected, but no suitable one was found.

Zhao Chong is making coffee. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

A few months ago, he went to Zhedong Village to see the venue. At the recommendation of the village officials, I immediately set my sights on this space under the airplane observation deck. There are large fields of farmland behind, planted with wheat and later rice, "he said, which is in line with his original intention of opening a rice paddy coffee shop.

In addition to large fields, the unexpected harvest is the scene of watching airplanes on the front line. I didn't expect so many people to enjoy watching airplanes, "Zhao Chong said.

After renting the storefront, he started considering renovation plans and even went to learn how to make coffee. It was a decision made for the first time, but now I realize that opening a good store presents a significant challenge

In the caf é, there are many elements related to airplanes. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

The crowd watching airplanes is mainly concentrated on weekends and holidays, so cafes face the problem of almost no passenger flow during working days. When the trial operation was held on April 28th, there were not many customers at all, "Zhao Chong said. Fortunately, during the May Day holiday, the weather was good, and many citizens and tourists came out to see planes, which brought a" good start "to the coffee shop.

Zhao Chong said that opening this coffee shop is not for making big money, "I want to gain more life experience and experience." He said that the operation of the shop is also exploring and adjusting according to the actual situation. We will try to attract some traffic during working days through some marketing activities in the future

The boss who doesn't understand airplanes at all

I want to add more aviation elements to the store

At Guanqi Tea Cafe, Zhao Chong set up some aviation themed elements. "I don't understand airplanes at all, and some of the models I bought are also very amateur," he said with a smile. In the past few days, he has communicated with some senior airplane enthusiasts and made him understand that there are so many ways to watch airplanes.

When the store is empty, he also walks up to the observation deck to communicate with some airplane enthusiasts. I think they are all very capable. They can stay here for four or five hours just to take pictures of a very rare plane. I also saw the plane photos in their camera, they are really cool

A lover of taking pictures of airplanes on the coffee shop observation deck. Xie Chunhui/Photo by

Zhao Chong said that he became friends with some airplane enthusiasts and asked them for a lot of airplane photos. I plan to set up a photo wall in the store and hang all the beautiful photos taken by my flying friends at Hangzhou Airport, "he said.

In addition, he also plans to add some aviation elements to the decoration and scenery in the store, making this coffee shop located by the airport runway more stylish.

Zhao Chong said that in the future, if conditions permit, he also plans to hold some aviation themed activities in the store, where everyone can come to the store to have coffee and chat about airplanes.

Chao News reporter Xie Chunhui

Responsible Editor: He Fangkun