Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam is a cosmopolitan city teeming with an active young population while ‘retired’ and elderly denizens hail its peace, sea breeze and serenity. Both have something in common: they patronise and promote the city’s coffee cafe culture.
The youth frequent modern coffee cafe shops to chat or work on their 'laps' over a cup of hot coffee, while retired individuals visit traditional coffee shops after their morning and evening walks. Both these groups sit, talk, and relax their mind in their own different ways.
With patronage from both ends, coffee cafe shops have become popular hangout spots in Vizag. New coffee cafe shops are springing up in several parts of the city.
Coffee shops that also offer good snacks, food and internet access are emerging as preferred workspaces in the IT sector amid the rise of ‘remote’ working culture. These coffee shops have been meeting places for students to collaborate on projects and a venue for artistic expression and performance. Retired individuals are coming in and finding their own corners to relax over a cup of coffee.
"Among the many cafes here, my favourites are the ones that serve pastries and coffee and offer the right ambience for conversation. I particularly enjoy the coffee cafes in Lawson's Bay Colony. There, I often meet friends, sketch, or play the guitar while studying," Ashima, pursuing a postgraduate degree in English at Andhra University told Deccan Chronicle.
“My preferred location for work and leisure is a coffee café offering high-quality internet access, good continental food and pet corners. I often choose to work from these coffee cafes,” Pawan Kumar Shetty, an IT professional said.
He said this practice allows him to connect with individuals outside the IT industry. These, he said, “are meeting points.”
Retired railway employee Namala Uma Maheshwar Rao is a frequent visitor to coffee cafes. “This helps beat the loneliness I and my wife would feel otherwise. "Our two daughters are in America. After our morning and evening walks, we visit a coffee cafe, spend some time there," he said.
This has become a habit for many elderly people. If they miss the visit a day, they get “tensed up.”
Mutyala Surya, a young entrepreneur and his friends opened a coffee cafe in the prime location of Visakhapatnam after noticing that such a trend is catching up. They offer 20 types of cold coffee and 20 types of hot coffee, as well as continental breakfast and lunch.
They are not stopping at this. Surya told the Deccan Chronicle that they are preparing to open another coffee cafe soon.
