Cafes heading into the 2020’s and why they’ll have a fighting chance.

Little neck cafe [Photo by: me]

I remember reading a business book in my early teens, it might’ve been Robert Kawasaki’s ‘Rich dad poor dad’. In that book I recall a chapter speaking in regards to how much the average American spends on coffee. Long story short, people spend a lot of money on coffee when they could be using the same economics to invest and compound their savings.

It wasn’t until this year I realized, after having consumed enormous amounts of coffee over the years and visiting a myriad of cafes; coffee shops aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Now I hadn’t figured this out overnight, it felt like guitar strings slowly tuned over a long chunk of time. But what had I realized? Why are cafes so crucial and necessary for our cities and neighborhoods?

The digital age and shift towards smartphones

Now I don’t know the exact statistics of people on smart phones, but it’s quite clear that every where we turn, it seems as if every single person is consuming media and communications through these devices. Connectivity is becoming increasingly effortless, so much that we don’t have to physically see our friends or acquaintances in order to communicate.

I’m not saying I’m against technology, if anything I’m all for it; there is however, still a need for human connection. Whether it be a meeting early in the morning, an afternoon chat after lunch or a place to discuss plans for the future late in the evening. Somehow we need excuses, reasons to meet up with other people in a place that allows for the freedom of expression and inspiration.

The Zeitgeist and Culture of cities

In Saigon, Vietnam; where my family is from, there is a cafe on nearly every corner. With high and low end cafes opening up every week simultaneously, it goes to show that theres a need within the culture for places to connect.

Culture predicates the consumption of coffee, in cities such as São Paulo, residents there might have an espresso after lunch or dinner making cafe culture almost non existent. While in cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles or New York City, people are consuming tonnes of coffee. With limited space, cafes are one of the few places people can have meetings, whether that be business related or casual.

Service, Design and Quality

While it’s comforting seeing familiar faces each morning, having that human connection with the barista and other neighbors; for a select few, the cafe is more than just a space in which shop owners can provide coffee. But a place to share design and a crafted experience of great service. People pay for an experience! and it’s up to the owners and management to dictate what kind of experience they will provide.

How about the lighting? What kind of music genres do we offer? do we want a modern or rustic interior? European or American? There is always an inherent need for escapism and in todays culture, cafes seem to be the inexpensive place to run to, that is whenever you feel you’ve had enough of your kitchen table.

Serendipity

I try to stay on the less romantic side of certain subjects especially when it pertains to business. I just can’t help but to be romantic about serendipity at cafes, It happens quite often that people join others’ conversations and end up being good friends. How many regular customers have fell in love with baristas or other customers in the shop.

It’s the context, like other venues such as music concerts and outdoor seating at a local park; people are not limited to speaking with each other, it’s just not the same comfort level. Blame it on television shows and movies where a ton of people have met in cafes and had deeper conversation.

It might even be the warmth of the coffee and being indoors on a cold snowy day, it could be that there’s no rush and that the mindset of a person in a coffee shop is a contemplative one. nonetheless, coffee shops remain good grounds for serendipitous encounters.