Swedish furniture maker Ikea has long been happy to look the other way when visitors to its China stores have taken naps in display beds, gone back for one too many refills at the cafeteria soda fountain and otherwise taken advantage of its hospitality. Raking in revenues of 4.9 billion yuan ($766.5 million), as Ikea did in China in 2010, makes it easy to overlook customers' foibles.

But one group of middle-aged singles in Shanghai has begun to test even Ikea's legendary patience.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for the past half a year, the cafeteria inside the company's store in the Shanghai district of Xuhui has been taken over by a swarm of locals between the ages of 45 and 65 who come to seek out new love over free cups of coffee -- a perk offered to holders of the Ikea Family membership card -- and boxed lunches brought from home.

So large is the crowd of lonely-hearted Family members that store employees were recently forced to cordon off a special zone for them inside the cafeteria.

"Before we did this, they occupied almost 80% of the seats, causing other customers to complain they couldn't find a place to sit," Yin Lifang, public relations manager at the store, told China Real Time in response to questions about the zone. "Every Tuesday, our restaurant business goes down by about 20% and we are consuming 6 boxes of coffee cream and sugar compared to 2 boxes during peak hours on weekends and holidays."