Beijing: Leading coffee chain Starbucks has opened a “silent cafe” in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, where about half of the staff are hearing impaired, as part of an initiative to support the employment of disabled people.
“This might be the quietest Starbucks of over 3,800 shops on the Chinese mainland,” Xinhua news agency quoted Leo Tsoi, chief operating officer of Starbucks China, as saying.
Fourteen of the 30 staff at the outlet, located in Yuexiu district and officially opened over the weekend, are hearing impaired. The shop has a specially-designed ordering system that allows people to place orders without saying a word. For example, all the drinks and food are numbered to facilitate the ordering, and customers can also choose to write down their specific needs.
