This Coffin Cafe Is Between a Hospital and a Funeral Parlor

When a simple coffee break just won’t cut it, maybe a coffin break will? 

“It was supposed to be named Caffeine Break but to make it different, I made it Coffin Break instead,” 27-year-old Brylle Sy told VICE about his cafe in Bacolod City, Philippines.

While death cafes are popular in other countries as spaces to ponder life and mortality, Sy’s concept is more literal than philosophical.

Sy makes coffins with his parents as part of their funeral parlor’s services, and he took that as inspiration to inject some new life (pun intended) into the cafe scene in his area.

“Coffee shops are common here, and their designs are all similar,” said Sy. “Because we make our own coffins, I had the idea that they could be used as chairs, so I had some specially made to be just that.”

The cafe now has two full-sized coffins that were designed to be chairs, seating up to four people each. Sy said another one is currently being built. There is also a smaller coffin that is used as a tip box. Other than the added seats and cushions, they look just like any other coffin you might see at a funeral.

In fact, some customers might actually be planning a funeral while drinking their cup of coffee. Coffin Break is located across a hospital on one side and Sy’s funeral parlor business on the other, right on the line, one might say, between life and death.

The space, Sy said, was originally supposed to be the funeral parlor’s office, but it was too big, so he put up the cafe for their clients “to have coffee while waiting for the paperwork.” 

The cafe seems to be a hit, as the customers VICE spoke to said they enjoyed its quirky concept, and took pictures with the coffins.

But it’s not for everyone. 

“There are customers who get scared,” said Sy, adding that it’s mostly older people who are frightened by the idea. Faced with coffins though, even younger customers find themselves thinking about death. 

“When I sat on the coffin [chair], I had thoughts about dying. I even tried lying down, to see how I would look in a coffin,” said Cindy Ira Guanzon, a 21-year-old nursing student.

For some customers, however, the coffins are not the point.

“The concept is super unique, it’s the only one like that in Bacolod,” admitted Jin Gayo, a frequent customer at Coffin Break. However, she said she keeps coming back to the cafe for the good food.

The cafe’s menu is as indiscriminate as death itself, and includes all kinds of comfort food from various cuisines—dumplings, burgers, milk tea, and one-liter bottles of local liquors served with juice.

“It’s weird at first to be in a cafe and sit on a coffin,” said Guanzon. “But eventually you get used to it, because the coffin isn’t your focus. It’s the great time with your friends and also the great food that they offer.”

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