To start a coffee shop in Vietnam, lock in your licensing path and lease before design: Vietnamese founders can register a household business (fast, simple taxes) or an LLC; foreign founders must set up an LLC and obtain IRC and ERC before signing a compliant lease. Prioritize a street-front site with legal commercial use, sufficient power (espresso + HVAC), proper fire egress, and a landlord willing to add food-service clauses and rent‑free fit‑out time. Secure: Food Safety Certificate (staff training + medicals, site plan, equipment list), fire safety acceptance, signboard permit, sidewalk seating approval (if applicable), and VCPMC music licensing. Build a compliant stack: e-invoice POS, QR payments (MoMo, ZaloPay, VNPay), delivery (GrabFood/ShopeeFood), and payroll with social insurance. Engineer operations: filtered water (TDS 70–120 ppm), drain/grease trap, 2‑group machine with local service, backup grinder, and daily dial‑in (espresso 1:2, 25–30 s; ca phe sua da sweetness controls). Source Dalat arabica and Dak Lak robusta; lock SLAs on roast dates and maintenance. Model viability: rent ≤12% of revenue, labor 18–22%, beverage COGS 25–30%; target AOV 45–65k VND and break‑even footfall by daypart near offices/schools. Soft‑open 10–14 days, collect NPS, refine menu, then scale via Google Maps, Zalo OA, TikTok, and influencers.
