Starbucks Opens Its First Back-Alley Location in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's First Sign-Language Store

In Ward Ban Co, near central Ho Chi Minh City, Starbucks opened an alley (hem) store on September 8, 2026. The address is 2/36 Cao Thang Street — set back from the main road down a narrow alley, this is Starbucks' first alley store in Ho Chi Minh City. What's more, it's the chain's first "Signing Store" in Vietnam, where about half the staff are deaf or hard of hearing. For residents and visitors alike, it's a store that changes the everyday experience of picking up a cup of coffee.

The first store, opened September 8 down a narrow alley off Cao Thang Street

The story originated from a report by the local newspaper Thanh Nien on September 7, 2026. Starbucks opened the store, tucked away down an alley in Ward Ban Co's Cao Thang Street, the very next day, September 8. Marketing and communications lead Chi Nguyen says the charm of the store lies in the surprise of stumbling upon a Starbucks in an alley. She also explains why the location was chosen: it's close to the city center and easy to reach, while still being far enough from traffic noise and flow to create a quiet space. The aim is different from the chain's usual approach of securing a busy corner lot.

Vietnam's first Signing Store, with half the staff deaf or hard of hearing

The store's other defining feature is that it's the chain's first "Signing Store" in Vietnam. About 50% of the staff are deaf or hard of hearing, and all of them work full-time. Inside, communication happens mainly through sign language, and customers reportedly adjust to this way of interacting fairly quickly. Special items released to mark the opening, and details throughout the store, incorporate sign-language-inspired designs. Preparation is said to have taken about six months, and Chi Nguyen looks back on running the store with deaf and hard-of-hearing staff: "At first I thought it would be very difficult, but once we actually got started, it wasn't as hard as I imagined."

There's groundwork behind this. Thirteen years after entering Vietnam, Starbucks has staffed about 10 stores nationwide with deaf or hard-of-hearing employees (one or two per store). This time, building on that experience, the chain is taking a step further with a store where half the staff are deaf or hard of hearing. The company has named several candidate locations where it could expand the same Signing Store model, though it hasn't disclosed timing or places. It also plans to direct part of the Cao Thang store's sales, over the next two years, to support a school for deaf children.

A global chain steps into alley café culture

Saigon, where an alley cup of coffee was part of everyday life

Saigon's (Ho Chi Minh City's) café culture has always been inseparable from its alleys (hem). Just off the main road, low stools line the eaves, and countless such stalls sit tucked deep in residential streets, serving strong coffee sweetened with condensed milk and poured over ice. These are places tourists walking the main streets alone would never notice, where locals have their regular haunt. Alleys have long sustained a "cup only insiders know about." A global chain moving in reads as a move to align itself with the local way of drinking coffee.

What choosing an alley location means

For global chains, opening a store has traditionally meant securing a busy corner lot or the ground floor of a commercial building. This time breaks from that, with Starbucks choosing an alley for the sake of both quiet and accessibility. As a result, the core customer base is more likely to be people motivated to seek the place out rather than passers-by. We followed the trend of choosing cafés for Mid-Autumn photos5 Hanoi cafés for Mid-Autumn photos, without waiting for the full moonAs we saw there too, Vietnam's cities are cultivating a kind of consumption where "the place itself becomes the destination." An alley location fits well with that mindset.

A store where employment, experience, and community support all come together

Dismissing this store with a single phrase like "buzz-building" or "social contribution" misses its real shape. At a store where half the staff are deaf or hard of hearing and sign language is central, the way customers place an order itself changes from the usual, and that experience tends to stay memorable. On top of that come concrete details: about six months of preparation, an accumulation of employment at existing stores, and two years of support for a school. New experience for customers, employment for workers, and giving back to the community all overlap in this single store — that's the character of this opening.

We also saw examples of outside brands putting local ingredients and makers front and center to resonate with urban consumersNew World Saigon partners with Marou, wrapping guest rooms and lobby in Vietnamese-made chocolatethere too. The business is different, but the direction — leaning into local context to stay memorable rather than pushing on logo strength alone — is similar.

What Japan's food and retail industry can learn from this

Can inconvenience be turned into the joy of discovery?

Setting up in an alley or on a second floor to create a "hidden gem," instead of paying the high rent of a prime location, is an option open to independent shops and brands in Japan too. We followed the griddled banh mi that still draws lines even at prices many times higher than street-stall versionsA 2030-yen hot-plate banh mi in Saigon, 6 to 10 times the street price, still draws a lineshows that people will make the trip if the experience is worth it, even with an inconvenient price or location. Whether that inconvenience can be turned into the joy of discovery is what separates the winners.

Build employment into the system, not a one-off

This store stands on a foundation of employment at existing stores and about six months of preparation. Because hiring people with disabilities is built into the design of recruitment and training, rather than a one-off campaign, launching it as the flagship store doesn't feel forced. In Japanese store operations too, if a business wants to claim social value, a system built over several years will ultimately matter more than a single year's buzz.

Shift one of location, service, or product

A single element of surprise eventually wears off. Layering different kinds of elements — an alley location and sign-language-centered service, for instance — raises the intensity of the experience. Deliberately shifting one or two of location, service, or product gives customers a reason they'll want to talk about. The key is not to treat the hiring approach as a marketing tool but to shape it as a genuine working environment for staff first — word of mouth follows as a result, and that order shouldn't be reversed.

What to know before visiting

Hours and prices aren't given in the source article, so they aren't included here. Please confirm with official information before visiting.

Next time you're in Saigon, try visiting the alley flagship store

Starbucks' alley flagship store in Ho Chi Minh City brings together a global chain, Saigon's hem café culture, employment for people with disabilities, and giving back to the community, all in a single store. It places the inconvenience of the location and sign-language-centered service at the core of the experience rather than treating them as weaknesses. There are takeaways for Japan too — in opening stores that don't compete on rent, and in designing employment over the course of several years. To get started, save "Cao Thang 2/36, Ban Co" on Google Maps and locate the alley entrance before you head over, so you don't get lost.

Sources

• Thanh Nien, "Starbucks mo cua hang nup hem dau tien o TP.HCM" (September 7, 2026)