Qingdao Fanxi Coffee draws backlash for one-seat-per-cup rule

Qingdao Fanxi Coffee Co Ltd, a seafront café, has drawn nationwide backlash for requiring each customer to buy a drink to take a seat, after a couple was told one 58-yuan coffee covered only one chair.

The dispute highlights a broader tension in Chinese tourism: scenic-area cafés increasingly sell the view as much as the coffee. It also raises a legal question over when a seating rule becomes an unfair minimum spend.

The incident

The café sits in the Yumingzui scenic area in Qingdao's Huangdao district. The couple ordered one vanilla-seed coffee priced at 58 yuan. As they prepared to pay and sit down, staff told them the order covered only one seat; a second cup would be needed for both to sit.

After leaving, they sat on a bench dozens of metres from the café and were again asked to move. Staff said the area was reserved for paying customers, according to the account that spread online.

The rule was widely criticised as a coercive standard term and a disguised minimum spend. The café took down the notice and said it had been introduced to manage peak National Day crowds.

A small company in a prime spot

Tianyancha, a corporate-records database, shows Qingdao Fanxi Coffee Co Ltd was registered in December 2025. Its legal representative is Liu Jianping, and its registered capital is 500,000 yuan (about $70,000).

Its business scope covers beverage production, food sales and catering, as well as commercial performances and online food sales. At that size, its main asset is not a coffee-roasting technique or a restaurant brand but its lease at a scarce seafront site.

The economics of a sea view

Seafront cafés face sharp swings in demand. Holiday afternoons can bring crowds; long northern winters and rainy weekdays can bring almost no revenue. Rents for sea-view sites are high, and fit-out costs are heavy.

That cost structure pushes operators to charge for the view. A coffee whose ingredients cost a few yuan can carry a 58-yuan price and a large scenic premium. During the National Day holiday, table turnover becomes the focus: a couple sharing one cup occupies a seat that could otherwise earn another 58 yuan.

The legal line

The Consumer Rights Protection Law and anti-unfair-competition rules bar businesses from setting unfair or unreasonable transaction conditions or forcing transactions. Cafés can manage seating and stop people from occupying tables for long periods without buying anything.

But once a customer has paid 58 yuan, the seat is part of the service, critics say. Requiring a companion to buy a second drink effectively