Nguyen Duc Sam's Hanoi Bus Cafe, which is located in Ha Dong district, receives a lot of customers every day. (Photos vietnammoi.vn) Hanoi, (VNS/VNA) - Hanoi is a city that lovesa good cafe, so it can take a lot for one to stand out.
One way to break the mould is an eye-catchingdesign, and what's more eye-catching than a big yellow bus?
That must have been what Nguyen Duc Sam and hisfriends thought when they opened Hanoi Bus Cafe.
Located on the grounds in front of a future HaDong metro station on To Hieu Road, the cafe is inside a stationary bus whichhas been redesigned.
Sam said he came up with the idea for the cafeduring a trip to Vinh Phuc province north of the capital when he saw manydamaged buses that had been abandoned and were going to waste.
“A sudden idea came to my mind, why don't we usesuch a bus to open a coffee shop? My friends agreed and we bought a bus, but atfirst we faced many difficulties on how to turn it into a cafe as we didn'thave any model to follow,” Sam said.
He said his group repaired the bus with oldparts such as tyres, and even today they try to improve the bus using recycledmaterials.
The group stripped the interior of the bus torepaint it, made the driver's area a kitchen and used old tyres as tables,chairs and pots for plants.
“One of my group members cut plasticbottles to become a flower pot to be used again and again,” said Sam.
Retiree Nguyen Van Loi, who is a regularcustomer of the cafe, likes the idea.
“It is a practical action to protect theenvironment and to respond to world organisations’ call to reduce plastic bagsand other items that cause harm to the environment and our lives,” hesaid.
The bus cafe is also outfitted with a smalllibrary, as well as two guitars and an organ for music lovers.
Housewife Tran Thi Bang often brings hertwo children to the bus so she can show them how discarded products can berecycled.
As well as standard coffee, the cafe alsoserves coconut coffee and various kinds of fruit juices at prices ranging from25,000-45,000 VND.
“My children are interested in reading books andplaying hide and seek around the bus.
"They also like the rocking chair made froma used tyre.
"The environment around the bus this autumnis very good and fresh for them to relax after hard learning inschool," Bang said, adding that space around the bus would be greatfor snapping a photo.
Student Hoang Trong Minh from the NationalEconomics University said the model was unique in Vietnam.
Minh and his friends often come here toenjoy coffee, read books or play music.
The customer experience is crucial for Sam, sohe said he was careful to choose safe ingredients and offered a money backguarantee.
"If a customer leaves his/her drink andfood, I will ask them why. If it's because of the taste, the customer will nothave to pay anything and if they say it's because they're in a hurry, Iwill ask my employee to wrap up their order to take it away,” he said.
As a result, Hanoi Bus Cafe has seen increasingnumbers of customers, from all walks of life.
This success has led to overcrowding duringweekends and holidays, so Sam said he hoped to open another bus cafebefore long.
You know what they say, you wait for one buscafe and then two show up at once./.
VNA