The Dream of a Cafe

Before moving to Beijing, my friend lied to me that the place where I was going to live was a small-capital settlement in Beijing. I came in high spirits. When I looked downstairs, there were people selling steamed buns, live chickens, and small hair salons with abnormal lighting at night, but they didn't sell coffee.

I know it's a pipe dream to find a good community cafe in Beijing. A friend and I came to Beijing at the same time to rent a house near the National Library because he liked the atmosphere of the library and had to go there in order to write calmly. But I can't rent a house near Sanlitun or Nanluogu Lane. Even if I love coffee, even if there are unpretentious restaurants that can make good coffee, I still don't like the smell of the whole street.

In China, cafes are not a necessary infrastructure for the community. In China, if non-large chain cafes want to survive, they must pile up to form an atmosphere, such as Tianzifang or on the edge of the West Lake, or rely on the university area. supported by students who are getting used to holding cafes on heavy exercise books. The problem is that I don't want to hang out with the weird and rustic people in Tianzifang, and I can't settle down around the young kids. I just want a small community cafe where I can sit warm and casual in my slippers on a spring night.

It can sell some very simple but delicious meals; fresh sandwiches with only ham and sliced cucumber, and if it's a little more advanced, make a pancake with steamed eggs and sprinkle a little dried ham; there are two or three specialties of salad. And make a curry. These are enough for a simple meal. There is no need for much coffee, black coffee has American style, Manning, Brazil, fancy coffee with cappuccino and latte is enough. No inexplicable Blue Mountains, Mexican or Irish coffee.

The space does not have to be big. There are five or six round wooden tables by the window, and three or four single sofas are enough in the corner. The windows should be big enough, the layout should be simple and refreshing, and the ethnic style, Gothic rock style and small freshness should be avoided. Usually the store should be quiet, do not play jazz; if the shopkeeper does not have confidence in the taste of the book, do not want the bookshelf, do not have the bookshelf but put "50 places to visit in a lifetime" and "Volkswagen appreciation" and other books.

Everything in this kind of cafe serves the convenience of people's life. Because of the good service, it will never look shabby. But I also know that in a society that pretends to be beautiful, such unpretentious community pavilions must be regarded as the most hypocritical, and then close down on their own two months later.