LONDON: For the first time in the United Kingdom, a young Pakistani entrepreneur has opened a coffee shop that accepts numerous cryptocurrencies as payment.
Tayyab Shafiq, 26, opened “Chai Ada” near Westfield in Shepherds Bush, West London, serving a variety of tea flavours as well as Pakistani and Asian foods such as parathas, biryani, kebabs, and rolls.
The Chai Ada, which is decorated with truck art and located directly next to the White City Bus terminal, has been an instant popularity.
The cafe’s ceiling is decorated with Pakistani truck art, umbrellas, chairs, and tables were carried over from Lahore, and each table has a Ludo game for guests.
Previously, Shafiq made waves in the United Kingdom when he launched a biryani café inside a red iconic London phone box.
He had to sell the phone box business as the local council and the English heritage didn’t allow him to continue his takeaway service due to regulatory issues.
At Shafiq’s Chai Ada, customers can pay for chai and delicacies using digital currency in the form of classic Bitcoin as well as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, Verge, Litecoin, and Horizen.
Shafiq has set up an app for this purpose which is connected to his Chai Ada and payments are instantly made from crypto wallet accounts against the British pounds.
Future Plans
Speaking to the local news channel, Shafiq mentioned, “Also, we are opening in Metaverse, which also has never been done before. This Metaverse cafe will be the first one which will allow the visitors to have virtual meetings for professional or personal/entertainment purposes.”