Karnataka

A lot can happen over coffee: It all started as a cyber cafe in Bengaluru

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BENGALURU: In Bengaluru, the first Cafe Coffee Day shop to open was at Brigade Road. It was launched 23 years ago and is now shut, making way for a garment shop. The outlet was closed for a couple of months and renovation is underway for the new shop. 

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According to Suhail Yusuf, Secretary, Brigades’ Shops and Establishments, the shop opened in 1996 and would offer coffee at Rs 30 or Rs 40 at the time. “A lot of foreign nationals would visit as it was different from other shops,” he said. 

It was also around the time that the IT sector entered the city. “The concept was different. It was like a cyber cafe where people could browse the internet by paying extra. Young people would flock to the place as it was the only one offering 12 computers in those days,” he said.

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