Pao Pao Cafe

The Pao Pao Cafe (パオパオカフェ, alternatively spelling Café, meaning Bread Bread Coffee in Portuguese) is a fictional bar and night club for multiple SNK continuities taking place in South Town. Many games feature either the original or its sister location, Pao Pao Cafe 2 (パオパオカフェ2号店).

Richard Meyer is the original founder of the bar, and his longtime student Bob Wilson runs the second bar.

Story[]

Richard Meyer lived life as a wandering fighter, traveling the world and challenging strong opponents in street fights. Hoping to create a place to settle with his wife and teach others the joys of Capoeira, Richard followed the rumors of The King of Fighters tournament and went to South Town. Aware of the deadly gang wars of the area, Richard used earnings from his previous winnings to found the Pao Pao Cafe near Delta Park, one of the neutral areas of the city free from turf wars.

The bar was designed to be spacious, usually with a mix of oriental and South American styles, featuring prominently dragon pillars. It had to host a stage large enough for live entertainment, Capoeira lessons, and late-night street fighting where a Capoeira roda will form with the bateria playing Capoeira music during the battles. Richard proudly used Pao Pao Cafe as his personal arena during the tournament. Although Richard lost midway through the tournament, the welcome atmosphere, good food, and open bar became a hit with local fighters. Pao Pao Cafe became known as a safe haven where anyone could relax and enjoy themselves.

Business remained booming, even after Wolfgang Krauser thrashed Richard so bad that he could not enter the following King of Fighters tournament. During his recovery period, Richard returned to Brazil and scouted for fresh Capoeria talent. He met Bob Wilson, one of his students and admirers, in a street fight and entrusted Bob with the new Pao Pao Cafe 2 when they returned to South Town. The second bar became as successful as the original. Richard and Bob may work shifts together at one of the bars.

Pao Pao Cafe quickly became one of Terry's favorite places to visit in South Town; Richard lets him eat on a tab and occasionally reminds him of this in supplementary material. Getting Terry to pay up is one of Richard's secondary albeit joking motivations for fighting in KOF: Maximum Impact 2. If he thinks Terry needs a job or is going too far on his tab, the owner occasionally hires Terry as a temporary janitor.

A Mexico branch exists in The King of Fighters series. It's similar to the original Pao Pao, keeping the Asian decoration but this time mixed with traditional Mexican design. This area was used by the Mexico Team (Ryo Sakazaki, Robert Garcia and Takuma Sakazaki) and features cameos of different characters from Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury. The King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout makes the place larger and the arena has a moving elevator that tours around the whole building halls and exterior.

In Street Fighter 6, a new sixth branch of the Pao Pao Cafe is established in Metro City, prompting Terry to travel there for a visit during its grand opening.

Description[]

Pao Pao Cafe acts as the stage where Terry, Andy or Joe fights Richard. The restaurant features an Asian décor while the stage hosts a Capoeira roda surrounding the fighters, with barrels appearing on both sides. This appearance is also feature in Fatal Fury 2, with an added jumbotron screen added in its cutscene.

PPCafeMex — Pao Pao Cafe as it appears in *The King of Fighters '94*.

Pao Pao Cafe acts as the home stage for Team Mexico (Ryo, Robert, Takuma). The stage has an opening shot where Pao Pao Cafe's appears logo over the side of a brick wall. The fight takes in the main hall of the restaurant, with a euphoric crowd. It also features a big chandelier and a statue of a dragon which goes beyond both sides of the hall and two ceiling fans.

Pao Pao Cafe as it appears in Fatal Fury 3.

Unlike the previous games, the stage is at Pao Pao Cafe, but rather its sister location, Pao Pao Cafe 2, appears as a stage in Fatal Fury 3. The stage is set on the main floor of Richard Meyer's bar, showing berimbau players next to a stone face, plants, the neon sign logo of the bar and people cheering. In the 2nd round, the "mouth" of the face lights up, but it return to normal in the 3rd round.

Cvs-paopao — Pao Pao Cafe as it appears in *Capcom vs. SNK*.

Pao Pao Cafe appears as a stage in Capcom vs. SNK. The dragon statue that appeared in KOF '94 now is featured in the center of the stage.

Kofxialleybg — Pao Pao Cafe as it appears in *The King of Fighters XI*.

Pao Pao Cafe appears as a stage in KOF XI. Unlike the prior versions of the stage, the fight takes place outside of the restaurant. The stage is set in the back ally street of the Pao Pao Cafe at night. It features two bridges that connects between the the restaurant and another building. Neon signs and graffiti can also be seen throughout the stage as well. Occasionally, a motorcycle passes through the stage a few times.

Pao Pao Cafe as it appears in The King of Fighters XIII.

Pao Pao Cafe appears as a stage in KOF XIII. In this game, the restaurant has seen a complete overhaul, now sporting a colorful stage with exotic plants and decorations with musicians in the center, with patrons watching over the battle on the left and right behind windows.

A new sixth Metro City branch of the Pao Pao Cafe appears in Street Fighter 6, most closely resembling its appearance in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters.