Cafes Serve A Greater Purpose Than To Just Dispense Coffee – CoffeeTalk

The coffee industry has been a topic of debate recently, with Starbucks’ new “Coffeehouse Code of Conduct” forcing people to buy something or leave. In Paris, cultural barriers are being raised between traditional cafes and hipster roasteries, with the New York Times highlighting the “zinc bar v barista” philosophical divide between classic community hubs and hipster roasteries. Good cafes are considered third places, defined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg as spaces that are neither home nor work, accessible and inclusive, allow visitors to keep a low profile but welcome regulars, and provide room for conversation and playfulness.

The internet has become our third space, as seen in the Atlantic’s Ellen Cushing’s elegy for the lost convenience of the Starbucks toilet. However, a third place is not just about safety when home is not a haven; it is also a breath of air for anyone who just needs to be elsewhere. Neutral, welcoming spaces have valuable value, but not on the balance sheet. France has lost 160,000 cafes since the 1960s, and now Starbucks is saying “Pay up or get out.”

An amazing third place near me is York Community Stadium Complex, which opened in 2020 and offers a pool, sports hall, climbing wall, library, cafe, and drop-in support center for people with cancer. It is a space to hang out unbothered, used by people of all ages, and feels miraculous, like something from a more optimistic era. It is welcoming, accessible, inclusive, and even playful.

However, there is a cost to having healthier, happier communities, as loneliness is a “global public health concern.” Third places don’t need to be elaborate, and with rates exemptions and public subsidies, some of these spaces could become a new wave of third places, such as community hubs, repair cafes, libraries of things, and low-key places for groups to meet. It would be nice to chat about this topic somewhere, maybe over coffee, or not.

Read More @ The Guardian