Posted on 08/08/2010 11:06:46 AM PDT by thecodont
Reporting from San Francisco — Housed in an old San Francisco warehouse, Four Barrel Coffee — with its vintage record player, 53-year-old coffee roasting machine, tables hewn from recycled wood and wall of mounted boar heads — calls one of the world's most wired cities home.
But don't expect to get an Internet connection there.
Coffee connoisseurs hooked on this roaster's beans won't find a working signal — or even a power outlet. The uninitiated often try to plug into a fake one that owner Jeremy Tooker spray painted on the wall as a gag. "There are lots of marks on the drywall," Tooker said, laughing.
About 30 miles south in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley's technology industry, the Coupa Cafe offers some of the fastest Internet service in town. But even this popular hangout for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists bans Wi-Fi on weekends to make room for customers sans laptops.
"We had big parties or family groups who wanted to eat but had no room," said Jean Paul Coupal, who runs the cafe with his mother, Nancy. "They were getting upset about it. They felt the whole place was being taken over by techies."
Coffee shops were the retail pioneers of Wi-Fi, flipping the switch to lure customers. But now some owners are pulling the plug. They're finding that Wi-Fi freeloaders who camp out all day nursing a single cup of coffee are a drain on the bottom line. Others want to preserve a friendly vibe and keep their establishments from turning into "Matrix"-like zombie shacks where people type and don't talk.
That shift could gather steam now that free Wi-Fi is less of a perk after coffee giant Starbucks stopped charging for it last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
"There is now a market niche for not having Wi-Fi," said Bryant Simon, a Temple University history professor and author of "Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks."
What a fascinating phenomemon of the free market.
I applaud his choice. I added to my bussines cards and the like “We speak english” to rave reviews
Heh!
Wait until they MANDATE WiFi in these private businesses.
Will that be surfing or non-surfing?
Banned, techies congregate outside to get a fix...
New ordinances banning laptop use within 150 feet of the building entrance...
Villified as causing everything from the Ague to zits, techies huddle in small enclaves in basements and garages...
Full circle.
I am a tech person, but I have no problem at all with this. I wouldn’t dream of sitting down and taking up a table for several hours with nothing more than a glass of water, but there are many who would have no qualms about doing it.
That said, I have parked near one to hook in when I have been paged...
Fits the profile of the story I’ve read here of a north western college professor opening a coffee shop for all his student comrades, then closing it because of the patrons aptly described here, the all day one cup coffee moochers.
How long do you think it will take until SDS and other groups protest not getting free stuff?
LOL...no kidding. Talk about the laws of unforeseen circumstances, which liberals seem to get constantly bitten on the ass by.
I was up in a liberal town in Maine last weekend, and one of the residents told me when the Maine Yankee nuclear plant was up there, the libs fought tooth and nail to shut it down, which it eventually did.
But, apparently, the plant had been doing all the heavy lifting of taxpaying for decades, and when it was gone...poof...the tax base disappeared as well. The caterwauling was loud and long, if the stories are believed...
Makes sense to me. Exactly what I’d do if I ran a coffee shop (not that I’d do any such thing). I’d also put in cell-phone jammers. Oh, they’re illegal. Well, a Faraday cage, anyway.
With broadband, I don’t need Wi-Fi to connect. Anyplace with a comfortable chair and a table will do including libraries, coffee shops, and hotel lobbies. I do enjoy coffee and am happy to pay the proprietor for multiple cups. If they don’t want my business that’s OK with me.
I am always surprised by the ignorance and stupidity emanating from our "elite" class and their sycophants in the media. As a recovering restaurateur I can attest this coffee shop did not make this move in an effort to capture a "market niche". It was made because they were losing money to seat moochers. Someone needs to tell these sheltered Obamabotic fools people go into business to make money and not satisfy some esoteric need.
Hahahahahahahahahah! That is too funny.
Liberals.
Can’t operate profitable talk shows.
Can’t drive cars.
Can’t fly planes.
Can’t sail boats.
Now add “Run a coffee shop that can pay the bills”!
And thats why Barns and Noble and Borders are about to go belly up come and camp out all day and read our books
Most pay for sites have this anyway....
“People can go to the library if they just want free internet access.”
Just who do you think pays for the internet service that is provided “free” at the library?
Hint: It’s NOT the library.
You might have a winning business model there. Advertise the coffee shop as a shelter from EMPs and solar flares. Put in shelves by the door, where patrons can park their tinfoil hats, while in your sanctuary.
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