'Silent cafes' a strong voice for disabled workers

Amid the usual sounds of office work, a familiar noise fills the air in a government service hall in Huai'an, Jiangsu province — the gentle whir of coffee grinders and the soft hiss of steam.

But this is not a typical outlet. It is a "silent cafe", where baristas communicate through warm smiles and sign language. Created as part of a local government effort to employ people with disabilities, the shop run by Cotti Coffee, a national brand, has become a beacon of opportunity for the city's deaf and hearing-impaired community, opening new career paths and raising their public visibility.

Customers order by scanning a QR code or through the shop's online platform, minimizing the need for verbal communication.

For any last-minute order changes, the cafe is also equipped with a tablet featuring voice-recognition software and a writing board.

The model has proved popular, and the cafe is a bustling hub. Delivery drivers — usually a rare sight inside a government building — are frequent visitors, carrying takeout orders across the city.

The cafe is part of a broader disability assistance center that opened in December 2023, which also displays work for sale by disabled artists and offers wheelchair rentals. The cafe — opened just one month later — has become the vibrant, beating heart of the space.

For barista Wang Jiali, working at the cafe has been life-changing. The 39-year-old, who has severe hearing loss and uses a cochlear implant, first discovered the shop while visiting the government hall two years ago. With no prior experience, she was trained from scratch and learned to handle the full menu.

Now, on a typical day, she and her team prepare up to 200 beverages. The work is demanding, and for Wang and her colleagues, it comes with an additional, unseen challenge: navigating the occasional misunderstandings that arise, given that a cafe staffed entirely by deaf and partially deaf baristas is still a relatively new concept in a public space.

She remembers one busy shift when the noise of a steam machine drowned out a customer's voice. Unaware of the order, she continued working. "He got very angry and couldn't understand why no one was responding," Wang said.

She quickly went over to him. "After I explained, he felt embarrassed," Wang said. "Once we communicated, he understood. It was a relief for us, too."

This role is a transformative one for Wang. Compared with previous jobs, the constant interaction has become her greatest source of growth. "It has helped me build courage and improved my communication skills," she said.

Her evolution from a silent world to confidently engaging with the public encapsulates the program's biggest success, which has been replicated elsewhere. In July, a second government-assisted space with a silent coffee shop opened in a similar service hall in Huaian's Huaiyin district.

Local government figures show that the program's training has already helped over 20 people with disabilities, eight of whom have become certified baristas now working in the two locations.

Launch of project

Behind these Cotti Coffee outlets is franchise partner Wang Xian. Inspired by the local Disabled Persons' Federation's initiative, she left her corporate sales career to launch the project. Her motivation is personal, shaped by her hearing-impaired aunt and uncle, who were never formally employed and instead earned a living by selling tofu on the streets.

She initially doubted her team could master the dozens of coffee recipes, but their commitment proved her wrong. "It's not easy for our hearing-impaired staff to master these skills," she said. "But they proved me wrong."

She shared the story of one team member, Xiao Qi.

"She had never worked before joining us," she said. However, after seven months of training, Xiao transformed from someone who "used to speak very little" into a confident store manager who now steps out from behind the coffee bar to greet and assist customers. Her journey reflects the cafe's core mission to unlock potential through empowerment and patience.

The project has flourished thanks to strong institutional support. The government service center provides the space rent-free and covers all utilities, a crucial endorsement of its social value. Delivery riders are welcomed without restrictions, ensuring the business runs smoothly.

"The center has been extremely supportive," Wang said, highlighting how public-private partnerships can create meaningful opportunities.