In recent years, a growing number of coffee shops settled in the Tianhe central business district (CBD), reflecting the economic vitality in the CBD. There are 1,022 coffee shops in Tianhe, of which 599 are located in the Tianhe CBD.

The first Lavazza coffee shop in Guangzhou was opened in the Tianhe CBD in August 2021. According to Cai Tianyu, assistant manager of the coffee shop, and Cai said the reason why the coffee shop settled here is that the Tianhe CBD has a strong consumption capacity and can bring more opportunities for its future development.

The Lavazza coffee shop in the Tianhe CBD. [Photo/WeChat account: tianhefabu]

There are currently 124 business office buildings in the Tianhe CBD, with a total combined floorage of more than 14 million square meters. Among them, 71 buildings have an annual tax revenue of over 100 million yuan ($15.75 million) and 17 have an annual tax revenue of over 1 billion yuan. It now has 120 headquarters enterprises, accounting for one fourth of the city's total, and 216 licensed financial institutions, making up 70 percent of the city's total.

The Tianhe CBD's fine business environment and its preferential tax policies also attract the settlement of coffee shops.

Caffe' Di Stefano in the Tianhe CBD enjoyed a total of 47,100 yuan of VAT reduction and 25,400 yuan of small and micro enterprise income tax reductions in 2020, and 49,000 yuan of VAT exemption in 2021.

On top of that, the huge consumer market in the Tianhe CBD is one of the reasons that coffee shops choose to settle in the district.

"The Tianhe branch of Signless Café mainly focuses on meeting the coffee needs of office buildings," the relevant person in charge of Signless Café said. "The opening hours are also earlier, corresponding to the office hours."