Vietnamese coffee shops: A shrinking refuge for connection, escape

For him, a coffee shop is not just about a quick drink but is a place to linger, reconnect with familiar faces or spark up a conversation with a stranger.

He sits listening to the city's hum, soaking in the slow rhythm that coffee shops uniquely offer.

A coffee shop is more than a destination for flavor; it is a comforting anchor, a place that balances city bustle with quiet moments, where a sense of belonging can ease the loneliness that sometimes shadows old age or nostalgia for a former way of life.

With little to worry about these days, he finds a gentle remedy in the presence of others.

Like him, I have also grown to love Vietnamese coffee shops, though I cannot recall exactly when the affair began.

Perhaps it started with those sidewalk mornings, clutching a cup and watching the lively documentary of daily life in Hue, Saigon, or Hanoi.

I would listen to the blend of familiar sounds: friends calling out, the steady hum of a coffee grinder, rain tapping on a tin roof, and street vendors' cries.

Each visit painted a scene that always felt like home.

People sit at a coffee shop in Hanoi. Photo by Tung Dinh

For nearly a decade I have frequented cafes in the west, but the experience is different. There, people stop for a flat white or long black to go - it is about coffee as fuel, not an invitation to linger.

Shops where I live in the west close early, some before 3 p.m., and sitting longer often feels out of place; the unspoken message is that staying too long is unwelcome.

In those moments I felt like an anomaly - a middle-aged person sitting quietly during work hours, out of sync with a world always in motion.

Reflecting on these experiences, I became interested in how sociologists view the "third space" in modern life.

Ray Oldenburg, an American urban sociologist, described "third spaces" as public places where people gather and interact freely, away from the demands of home or the structure of work - places like coffee shops, parks, libraries, and markets.

Here, people can simply be themselves, nurturing a sense of community and belonging.

Everyone everywhere needs third spaces where they can relax and connect, unburdened by professional or family roles.

In urban Vietnam, coffee shops are living examples of the community spirit, welcoming spaces that bridge the personal and the public.

In the countryside, these spaces might be a tea stall at the village gate, a bamboo cot under a tree or neighbors gathering for tea and chess.

Though humble, they play a vital role in building bonds, easing stress and anchoring identities.

However, these third spaces are slowly shrinking. Urbanization, commercialization and digital technology are banishing opportunities for in-person connection. Some coffee shops blast loud music or are filled with smoke, making conversation hard.

Sometimes the peace is broken by people playing cards or beggars moving from table to table.

Even as coffee shops multiply in cities, people sit side by side yet remain alone, absorbed in their screens, conversations replaced by digital voices.

Traditional tea stalls, old community houses and public playgrounds are giving way to shopping centers and gated communities.

Increasingly, villagers chat on Zalo or Facebook, rather than face to face.

In an era of digital acceleration and shrinking physical connection, coffee and tea shops preserve a valuable culture worth cherishing.

They remain places where people can meet, talk and truly be present with each other.

*Pham Hoa Hiep is a lecturer.