Two Years After the Village Café Boom, Early Owners Still Struggle to Turn a Profit

In 2023, Bao Shifu packed his bags, left Beijing, and settled into a small courtyard in the southern part of Sitang Town, Shanghai. It was here that he embarked on his relentless — and often turbulent — journey into the world of village cafés.

That same year, Zhou Xiaoyu, a former kindergarten teacher, returned to her hometown of Zhangshui Town in Ningbo, Zhejiang, eager to ride the wave of this rural coffee trend. She opened Senmu Coffee, a nature-inspired café nestled in the countryside.

Far away in Jiaozuo, Henan, Guo Goudan was transforming his first hillside village café into something new.

By 2025, the initial village café boom had cooled. Guo had experimented with every possible rural café concept. Bao Shifu had shut down two cafés and was attempting a third revival. And Zhou’s once-trendy bamboo-themed café was already facing the reality that viral fame doesn’t last forever.

The Allure of the Countryside

Zhou’s journey began in 2019. Burned out from the fast-paced, high-pressure life of an urban kindergarten teacher, she longed for the peace of rural living. She found a village just 20 minutes from her home, framed by lush bamboo forests — the perfect setting for a dream café.

Blending local charm into her business, she served drinks in bamboo cups and introduced bamboo tea-and-coffee sessions. The timing was perfect: the pandemic made long-distance travel difficult, and her “bamboo courtyard” café quickly became a social media darling.

Guo’s story was more accidental. While cycling through the mountains, he spotted a quaint courtyard and rented it for just a few thousand yuan a year. With minimal investment — no décor, coffee served in enamel mugs, and snacks like sunflower seeds — he ran the café like a hobby.

Then a single Douyin video went viral, racking up over 2 million views. The café became a biker’s paradise, with riders traveling thousands of kilometers to enjoy coffee, music, beer, and barbecue under the open sky.

For Bao Shifu, his first café’s fame also came from motorcycle riders. After his Beijing coffee shop closed due to the pandemic, he moved into a Shanghai village courtyard he had spotted online. At first, it was a quiet life of gardening and roasting coffee for fun — until passing bikers discovered it and spread the word.

The Harsh Truth Behind the Charm

Starting a village café sounds idyllic, but the reality is far more complex. Many young entrepreneurs soon realize that high upfront investments, the fleeting nature of internet fame, and fierce competition from expanding coffee chains make profitability elusive.

Guo experimented with creative locations — even setting up a café at the edge of a wheat field behind a pigsty. The surreal contrast attracted huge crowds and hefty sales, but safety concerns and logistical issues shut it down within weeks.

Bao’s first café was shut down for a different reason: local authorities discovered the property was an illegal structure. His second attempt, in Sitang Town, faced strict commercial design rules that limited his ability to recreate a viral “scenic café” aesthetic. Once Starbucks and other chains moved into the area, competition became overwhelming.

Zhou faced internal challenges too. Her vision of integrating eco-tourism and education into her bamboo café clashed with a partner who wanted a standard commercial coffee model. Eventually, she left the business entirely, returning briefly to her old career before trying again with Senmu Coffee in a scenic heritage area.

More Than Just Coffee — It’s About Community

What sets village cafés apart from urban coffee shops isn’t just the scenery — it’s the relationships.

Guo now operates with a “partners only” model, inviting customers-turned-friends to join him as co-owners. Zhou’s café has become a gathering place where customers often turn into collaborators, offering help and encouragement during tough times.

Bao’s latest café in Xiajiacun takes community integration even further — hosting village events, supplying refreshments for local tourism projects, and even developing herbal-infused coffees as part of agricultural initiatives.

In rural China, the true sustainability of a village café doesn’t come from fleeting social media hype, but from deep roots in local culture and mutual support within the community. As Zhou puts it, “You have to be ready to endure the hard days and commit to the land itself before the results appear.”