I like coffee, but I despise cafes. At least what we Americans have come to call cafes.
I respect the coffee bar, or espresso bar, as it's done in Italy. There coffee is not some fatuous beverage to be nursed. It's fuel, energy, a shot in the arm. There are few or no stools in a coffee bar and there damn sure ain't any couches. You walk in, put your foot on the rail, remain standing, maybe exchange a few words with the barista; he gives you your drink, you do it like a hot brown shot and then, most importantly, you get the hell out.The American cafe that Starbucks and its ilk have produced are somewhat modeled after the French cafe, or a traditional coffeehouse. In France the sidewalk cafes are open to the street and feature rows of tables facing the sidewalk so you can people watch. But Americans are not interested in other people, they are primarily interested in themselves, so rather than people-watching they come and sit in couches for hours with their laptops that they plug into the wall in a self-entitled I-have-my-own-power-outlet kind of way.
In a traditional coffeehouse you sit and plot revolutions or listen to weird, challenging poetry. But Americans are not interested in the complexity of actual politics nor do they have an ear for poetry. So hitting the "Like" button on a Facebook snippet about the latest political pundit's bumpersticker wisdom or forwarding an e-mail about a cat that wants a cheeseburger are the preferred activities.
What could cause the layout and design of an American cafe to change? One thing, of course: Money. If you open up a cafe in the 'States you're expected to provide free wi-fi, and ignore the fact that your customers will drop a few bucks on one coffee or a shitty little pastry, and those things don't nearly add up to what the landlord wants from you.
And so a subset of American cafe owners are finally abandoning the model and moving towards a proper coffee bar where you stand and they deliver, as in an Italian espresso bar. Unsurprisingly, not all American customers are crazy about having their chairs and power outlets taken away, though we think it's a positive trend. Read all about it in this Times article called "The New Coffee Bars: Unplug, Drink, Go."
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Although people who work for more than two hours and just buy a $1.50 cup of coffee need to be slapped.
BTW...If you look at the trend of Europeans under the age of 30- you will notice they too are using Wi-Fi and they certainly are not spending tons of money. Americans turnover tables far more often than our European counterparts (this also includes full service restaurants).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse
Or you may be suggesting that there is a market for coffee places where you don't sit down? Well, future coffee shop owners are welcome to do whatever they like and you are welcome to give them your patronage.
Or, you simply couldn't find a place to sit the last time you went to Starbucks and it pissed you off. So sorry.
There is more than one way to amend the social failures and gaps experienced in the American coffeehouse by using changes in the format, plan, and experience of the cafe. American culture may be in a state of transition where the "third place" as it functions socially in many countries is in a position to become better articulated, understood, and perhaps expected. If design informs and supports use, the design of coffeehouses needs more sophisticated attention to embrace such a transition so they can run smoothly as social engines in addition to being places to get great coffee. Perhaps truly fulfilling third places are within our grasp.
Also, a coffeehouse needs to be strong enough in character to serve as a venue for people using phones and computers without being overwhelmed.