Starbucks opens ‘silent cafe’ in Guangzhou

Starbucks has opened a “silent cafe” in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where about half of the staff are people with impaired hearing. It is part of an initiative to support the employment of people with disabilities. “This might be the quietest Starbucks of over 3,800 shops on the Chinese mainland,” said Leo Tsoi, chief operating officer of Starbucks China. The shop has a specially designed ordering system that allows people to place orders without saying a word.