ABSTRACT
Coffee shops have been extensively studied from various disciplinary and methodological perspectives. However, the influence of the host neighbourhood on the café experience has received little attention. To illuminate the impact of neighbourhoods on user experiences, participant observations and interviews were conducted at coffee shops, and the shops’ social media posts were analysed. This research was centred on speciality coffee shops in Hong Kong and Copenhagen situated in neighbourhoods that had not previously hosted such establishments. The results show that customers’ experiences of these café visits are holistic, transcending the café itself to include the atmosphere of the neighbourhood. These shops and the services they offer are distinctive in several ways: their location in neighbourhoods independently perceived as interesting, the seamless design of the transitional spaces between the cafés and their neighbourhoods, the integration of neighbourhood atmospherics into the cafés’ interiors and social media posts, and finally, their locally influenced services. Overall, the findings suggest that these establishments are not viewed as mere isolated cafés but rather as essential parts of a greater consumer experience that encompasses the surrounding neighbourhoods.
