At Ikea eatery, it's no pay, no stay

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for years, elderly people flooded to the restaurant to meet friends or a future partner at zero cost - sometimes exceeding the 700-seat capacity.[Photo by Yin liqin/Asianewsphoto]

"It's true that we gather here to socialize with our peers. But the last thing we want is to cause trouble and become a disgrace," said a 76-year-old Shanghai native who would only give his surname, Qiu.

The retired automobile factory worker has ritually come to Ikea with his wife for socializing three times a week for two years.

Ikea said in its written response that there had been misbehavior that had to get local police involved.

A cup of coffee is priced at 5 yuan at the Ikea-owned restaurant for nonmembers, half the cost at many fast food chains and one-sixth the cost at Starbucks.

But Qiu said it wasn't about the money.

"We've been to McDonald's and KFC. But there are barely any peers there," he said. "We feel like aliens there - surrounded by youngsters. If there is another place in Shanghai where elderly people can gather, we are more than ready to pay twice as much and travel farther."

The couple live alone and learned of the Ikea restaurant two years ago from a young neighbor who suggested they look for friends there.

A survey conducted by Renmin University of China that was released in March showed that half of the elderly aged above age 60 in China live alone, and a quarter of those said they feel lonely.

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