Figaro Shanghai shines with young blood at the helm

Caught on the road at noon, Ros Juan and company decide to stop at a restaurant. Eager to test her Mandarin, the young Figaro area manager for Shanghai volunteers to ask the Chinese driver to join them for lunch. They have a hearty laugh as she realizes she just told the driver the rough equivalent of “you eat me.”

Ros handles corporate communications for the Philippines from China. She starts chatting with Manila at 6:30 a.m., by 10 she’s at Figaro and stays till closing whenever she has to attend to important matters or a visiting tour group. Otherwise, she dines out with her various groups — one night it’s with her group of different nationalities; another night, her Shanghainese friends; still another, her Mandarin-school friends; and then, what she refers to as the Pinoy mafia — a group of Filipino bigwigs and their VIP visitors.

According to Ros, the two Figaros in Shanghai have become de facto secretariats. People ask store personnel whether so-and-so is in town, and regulars let them know when they’re going to be away for a while. If you ever find yourself in Shanghai, head for the flagship store in Jin Lin Tiandi across Xintiandi, 160 Xingye Lu Road or the kiosk in Tian An Center, an office building along Nanjing Xi Lu. Locals and expats alike tote their laptops with them. Here, wireless connection is everywhere. Micro-organizers, designers and writers meet with clients and friends. Most are recent university graduates in their 20s and 30s.

Not everyone who walks into Figaro is coffee savvy, though. So illustrations showing just what and how much goes into each order of beverage are posted at the stores. Unafraid to try new things, the locals are getting into the groove of coffee. In a tea-drinking country that opened its doors to the rest of the world fairly recently, residents are proud to be conversant in English and in the ways of the West. It’s not unusual to see locals order lattes and cappuccinos then sit by Figaro’s glass façade intermittently stirring in more sugar into their coffee, reading the news in a language they’re trying to learn while they sip a beverage they’re trying to get used to.

Ros is sure that China will develop a coffee habit. “Of all the cities in China,” she says, “the fastest developing and one that adapts the easiest is Shanghai. Shanghainese are the most cosmopolitan so they’re the trendsetters. They easily adapt to what’s happening in the West and it’s something that they really look up to. After they adapt to it then the other cities follow suit.”

Eager to share more with the clientele, Ros organizes in-store events. Last Jan. 19, there was a talk on designing Indian jewelry. Still ongoing is a 12-session creative writing workshop on Monday nights, which started last Jan. 8. Every first Sunday of the month is book club day à la Oprah, when those who have read the designated book come together to share their views. Every third Saturday is book exchange day, wherein members put books on the table and take home whichever ones they fancy. They can either keep the book or bring it back to next month’s exchange.

Ros has the energy, excitement and enthusiasm that only one so young can have. Being based in Shanghai doesn’t bother her at all as she likes traveling, learning other cultures and languages. That she can effectively eavesdrop now is proof of her growing command of Mandarin. The joke was that this feisty lady was just 16 going on 24 when she first joined Figaro Coffee Company; now, she’s 24 going on 16. She’s probably one of the reasons why Figaro attracts all those young achievers.