Young owner Dinh Nhat Nam of the Urban Station coffee shop chain has smart eyes and an agile figure.
Dinh Nhat Nam
Where does Urban Station’s style come from?
From the underground streets of London, Urban Station is an urban station, it sounds like a subway station, but the stations are small, fast and scattered in many places.
During the first 6 months, I realized that customers came to the restaurant and sat down and they didn’t like it, so how could I think that they would come again and buy take away?
Coffee is an indispensable drink of Vietnamese people
After a period of about 6 months of such losses, we made a few improvements to the model and design style.
The first shop after fixing the model had a little profit.
Currently, Urban Station’s system has 30 shops, 5 shops in Hanoi, one shop each in Da Nang, Vung Tau, Bien Hoa, and the rest are concentrated in districts of the city.
What was the most confusing moment for the board of directors?
In fact, there is always the biggest headache.
I heard that the brand could also be expanded in the Indochina region, but have you not done so yet?
It’s also the problem I mentioned above: consolidation and development.
In Malaysia, for example, the Old Town system is almost present in every district.
What’s special about Urban Station’s drink style?
Right from the start of the model, I thought about bringing high-end services like Coffee Bean, Gloria Jeans or Starbucks down to a price that more people could use.
Where do you source your coffee from?
Totally Vietnamese.
How is Vietnamese coffee different from world coffee?
Do Vietnamese people still prefer strong flavors and traditional filter coffee?
I’m running a program to change Vietnamese people’s coffee drinking habits, offering discounts on Espresso coffee mixed with condensed milk.
Which type does Nam personally like?
It is Espresso coffee mixed with condensed milk.
In addition, what are Nam’s personal interests?
I like to travel, because each trip brings many different ideas.
Why don’t you bring that back to Vietnam?
Why not?
