In recent years, coffee shops has become increasingly more popular in China — a country historically known for its tea. Luckin Coffee, which was founded in Beijing in 2017 and is now based in Xiamen, China, has more locations in the Asian country than Starbucks (overall, there are just over 24,000 stores in China, Singapore, and Malaysia). The cafes are known for operating what it describes as a “100 percent cashier-less environment,” geared towards pickup and delivery orders as well as dine-in spaces. The menu includes lattes, like the coconut, the Velvet (made with thick Hokkaido milk), and the Little Butter (made with French butter); Americanos mixed with juices such as orange and fizzy apple; and other espresso-based drinks.
Luckin’s New York cafe is taking over what had been a Sunglass Hut store. Its LinkedIn page seems to indicate that the company’s American home base will be in Secaucus, New Jersey, as the company is hiring for positions there. Eater has reached out for more information.
In 2019, Luckin went public on the Nasdaq stock market, but it turns out that it lied about its financials and was charged with fraud in 2020, having to pay a $180 million fine. In 2022, the company filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy, as reported by Forbes, and fired its previous executives.
This Luckin expansion is the latest company from Asia to open its first locations in U.S. Japanese retailers Uniqlo and Muji opened an American cafe and a food market respectively in Manhattan. Japanese bakery I’m donut? also expanded into Times Square recently. And Chinese brand Hey Tea, selling “cheese tea,” is on an expansion tear.
