Shanghai Coffee Shop Recommendations: Why Has Bear Paw Coffee Become So Popular? What Industries Can People with Hearing and Speech Impairments Work In?

Remember "Bear Claw Coffee"?

Remember "Bear Claw Coffee"? A "broken" wall, a single lamp, a claw, minimalist decor, and a unique business model - when the store opened, it immediately attracted countless customers queuing up to take photos.

The beginning of Bear Claw Coffee was to help solve employment problems for people with disabilities. Most of the baristas they hire are deaf and mute individuals, some with facial burn injuries. To better protect this group of baristas, the management used walls to "seal off" the entire bar counter, then "chiseled out" a 10x30cm hole, using a furry bear claw to serve drinks. This allows for good interaction with customers even without verbal communication.

Bear Claw Coffee has been operating for over a year now. As the number of stores has increased, the number of Bear Claw baristas has also been gradually growing. Recently, the Bear Claw baristas made the decision to "break down the wall"! This decision was made in hopes that Bear Claw baristas could interact face-to-face with customers, breaking down the "barrier" that exists between the deaf-mute community and the general public.

First "Broken Wall Store" Opens

Today, the first Bear Claw Coffee "Broken Wall Store" opened! While this "broken wall store" maintains the tradition of serving through the wall hole, it has "chiseled out" an external production space and serving counter on the adjacent wall. Customers can interact with the "claw" while also watching baristas wearing cute ear hats make their coffee nearby. The baristas also interact enthusiastically with customers!

The most prominent position in the store features a lovely sign indicating that baristas with black ears are "vocal" baristas, while those with white ears are "silent" baristas.

Breaking Barriers and Building Confidence

On opening day, Yingying, a silent barista who served as the store manager at the first Bear Claw Coffee, came to express her feelings using sign language: "Breaking down this wall was a very serious decision for all of us Bear Claw Coffee partners. Actually, we really wanted to communicate face-to-face with customers, but some of our friends were quite shy. However, after这段时间 of working together and growing, everyone feels more confident and at ease, hoping to communicate more directly with everyone."

Yingying is now a coffee trainer, training more "Bear Claw baristas" at a dedicated training base. She hopes that more deaf and mute people can gradually gain confidence through their exposure to coffee, rediscover meaning in life, and better integrate into society.

Image source: Internet

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