Ex-nightlife street to feature coffee shops

TONGREN Road, formerly well-known for its bars, will be turned into a new strip mainly featuring coffee shops, the urban planning authority of the Jing'an District said yesterday in its latest plan.

Stores, restaurants and studios will also be featured along the road and will open to the public by the end of this year, said a previous governmental notice.

Before last year's World Expo, the bar strip, quite popular among expats and foreign tourists, was closed down, mainly because it did not complement the image of neighboring Nanjing Road W. commercial area.

The district government declined yesterday to give details of the plan. Zhang Feng, an official with the Tong-ren Road Coffee Bar Special Street Office under the government, said details were still being drawn up.

"I thought the plan was a very good idea. The road is a popular street and anything to attract more customers is good business," said Paul Granville, manager of Malone's, a cafe on the road.

He said he believed the new cafes and bars down the street will "blend in well to the decor of the street."

Alex Shen, who works at another restaurant on the street, said the establishment of the Coffee Bar Street could make the road quite popular.

Tongren Road now has more than five cafes and restaurants. A grocery store is on the north part of the road.

"I hope the grocery on the road can be retained because it is the only grocery store for many nearby neighborhoods," said Liu Yanmei, director of the Tongxin Grocery.

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