Cát Tường closes Ho Chi Minh City cafe after nine months

Cát Tường said she put about 400 million dong into renovating the house and building the retro-themed space, which opened in June 2025. She priced coffee at around 25,000 dong a cup in an attempt to keep the cafe accessible, but said many customers came mainly to see her rather than build a steady customer base.

The business operated with about five staff after an earlier cut from roughly 10 workers, yet payroll remained a burden. Cát Tường said some months required her to cover losses from her own pocket, including staff salaries, highlighting how thin margins can be in Vietnam’s crowded food-and-beverage market.

The closure also reflects the strain on owner-operated ventures that depend heavily on the founder’s personal presence. Cát Tường said she had to stay at the cafe regularly to greet customers and take photos, while still balancing acting and hosting work, making the venture difficult to sustain.

She has since turned down offers to buy the cafe because prospective buyers wanted to keep using her name, a move she said could affect her personal brand. The decision follows her earlier shutdown of a self-named stage venue in Ho Chi Minh City after similar operational problems, including parking constraints.

For investors and operators, the story is a reminder that brand recognition alone does not guarantee cash flow. The next test for Vietnam’s consumer-facing small businesses will be whether they can convert short-term curiosity into repeat traffic without founder-led marketing and mounting fixed costs.