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Coffee shops are the office away from the office By Bryna Kranzler

Posted By joseph.pena On May 18, 2009 @ 9:04 am In Arts & Entertainment, Food Toolbox, Lifestyle | 4

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[1] Students and the self-employed seek refuge from their home
offices at popular coffee shops, like Lestat's in Normal Heights,
pictured above. (Photo by Bob Kahn)

I spent the past year-and-a-half working at Starbucks. Not “working” as in preparing multi-syllabic,
caffeinated beverages; rather as in bringing my novel to labor over at the café. While I thought it was my
particular idiosyncrasy to abandon a quiet environment in favor of a noisier one, I was surprised to discover
I wasn’t alone.

Throughout the country, people are using coffeehouses as their “office away from home” or “office away
from the office.” They are turning coffeehouses into what urban sociologist Dr. Ray Oldenburg, professor
emeritus at the University of West Florida, calls the “Third Place,” or “the most important social
environment after home and office.”

This phenomenon is apparent in San Diego where unique socioeconomic factors - a high frequency of
telecommuting and a high rate of self-employment - contribute to a distinct population of “office-less”
workers.

“[The City of] San Diego has 43 percent of the population in the county but 54 percent of the jobs … A net
gainer of population during the day,” says Michael Schuerman, director of research at the San Diego
Regional Economic Development Corporation. “Higher housing costs means more people moving farther
away … which would set the scenario for telecommuting.”
Related links
Gas prices that are routinely among the highest in the nation create a
For a list of local free Wi-Fi
further incentive to avoid unnecessary, long-distance driving.
hotspots, see below [2]
Another factor is the city’s high rate of self-employment and
entrepreneurship. Between 2002 and 2007 San Diego County had a
consistently higher rate of self-employed workers than the average
across the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
During this period, self-employment in San Diego averaged 8.97
percent of the workforce as compared with the national average of
6.94 percent.

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Coffee shops are becoming more attractive as non-traditional work

environments because of the increasing availability of free wireless
access (”WiFi”) and perks such as unlimited coffee. In addition, “café
commuters” consistently cite two, seemingly incompatible reasons for
seeking an alternative to the home- or work-based office: The desire to
avoid the inevitable interruptions in the office, while at the same time
being part of a “social environment” without the social obligations.

For Lily Gharemani, literary agent and co-founder of Full Circle Literary
Agency, the café is a necessary substitute for her office where there is
“too much opportunity for distraction.” When she reads manuscripts or
reviews contracts, she goes to Cream, an independent café in the
University Heights neighborhood of San Diego.

“When I’m at my desk, there’s a pile of matters to be attended to. . .

At a clear café table I can give a manuscript my undivided attention,”
she said.

The extent to which distraction makes the office an inefficient place to

work was quantified by Dr. Gloria Mark, professor of informatics at the
University of California, Irvine. Her 2005 study found that employees See below [3] for a brief and
“spent only 11 minutes on any given project before being interrupted scandalous history of coffee
and whisked off to do something else … Each time a worker was and coffeehouses.
distracted from a task, it would take, on average, 25 minutes to return
to that task.” This accounts for the familiar yet unsatisfying feeling of
accomplishing nothing after spending a full day at work.

Yet, in spite of the very real need for productive personal space, human beings are, by nature, a social
species and eschew isolation. According to Bob Kahn, a photographer and creator of software for
professional photographers, the mere presence of other people satisfies that communal craving. He enjoys,
“having people around, not to talk to - - just to be around.” In this way, the café-as-workplace is like
Cheers, the bar made famous by the television series of the same name. It’s a place “where everybody
knows your name” but you don’t have answer to it.

More "office-less" workers are using free Wi-Fi at coffee shops to

[4] get work done. (Photo by Bob Kahn)

Many businesses don’t resent these laptop-lingering customers and, in fact, they have been cultivating this
population. Angie Spinner, customer marketing coordinator for the West and Central regions of the Panera
Bread Company, reports that café commuters “increase traffic during the hours between breakfast and
lunch, and lunch and dinner” and “drive sales during [those] times.” It’s no wonder, then, that the company
offers free refills on coffee and soda and even a telephone number for free technical support. Policies are
similar at independent cafes, such as Urban Grind, Lestat’s, Peet’s and Pannikin, all of which are making it
more convenient for people to use their facilities for work. (See sidebar on Wi-Fi spots around the county.)

While the natural metabolism of a cafe would seem to offer the very distractions that laptop laborers seek
to escape, the actual effect is counterintuitive.

The presence of others toiling in the same surroundings creates a “serious and structured” environment that
is conducive to work, says Mary Walshok, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for public programs, and dean of
university extension, as well as adjunct professor in the department of sociology, at the University of

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California, San Diego. And “in the current economic climate in which everyone is working for himself … [i]t
doesn’t matter where the work gets done.”

Whether because of layoffs, cutbacks or personal choice, more people with “high value-added skills” are
working part-time or as independent contractors, using local cafés as their headquarters. In this trend, Dr.
Walshok sees an indication of where work is going in the future. Contract workers, she believes, will play a
larger role as companies purchase value-added skills, as needed. As a result, “People who are comfortable
with ambiguity and isolation, and know how to navigate this kind of space will be best positioned in the new
economy.”

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[2] here: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-15/lifestyle/find-a-wi-fi-hotspot-near-you
[3] here: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-18/lifestyle/a-brief-and-scandalous-history-
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A brief and scandalous history of coffee and coffeehouses

Posted By joseph.pena On May 18, 2009 @ 9:04 am In Arts & Entertainment, Food Toolbox, Lifestyle | 4
Comments

0 Since the discovery of the coffee bean by an Abyssian goatherd (who found his goats
tweets
“dancing” after nibbling the berries from a particular bush), the dark beverage made from
tweet it has been both venerated and vilified. The first consumers were members of the Sufi sect
(the “whirling dervishes”) who drank coffee to stay awake for late night prayers. But once
the beverage’s popularity spread and coffeehouses opened, it quickly earned its reputation a
“troublemaking social brew.”

• In 1511, upon learning that humorous rhymes about him were being composed in coffeehouses, the
governor of Mecca proclaimed coffee forbidden under the laws of Islam and forced all coffeehouses in
Mecca to close. In what may be the first example of coffee’s addictive nature, the governor was
overruled by the sultan of Cairo who was a coffee lover.
• In 1675, King Charles II of England felt threatened by “False, Malicious and Scandalous Reports . . .
to the Defamation of His Majesties [sic] Government” and issued a proclamation banning all
coffeehouses Kingdom. The resulting uproar, however, proved a greater threat to the monarchy than
the chatter therein, and the King was forced to reverse the ban before it was effected.
• Political leaders weren’t the only ones affected by the popularity of coffeehouses. In 1674, women
in launched a protest for keeping their husbands away from them every evening. The Women’s
Petition Against Coffee, contending that their husbands came home from the coffeehouse “with
nothing stiffe [sic] but their Joints, nor standing but their Ears.” The Men’s Answer to the Women’s
Petition against Coffee, however, claimed that women should be grateful for coffee because it was an
aphrodisiac.
• At the Palais Royal in Paris, the seeds of discontent with the French aristocracy were sown,
resulting directly in the storming of the Bastille and the French revolution. Similarly, The Green
Dragon Tavern (a coffeehouse) in Boston was where groups of patriots met secretly to plan The
Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution
• But coffeehouses also served a higher purpose as the official meeting places for scientific, literary
and commercial conversations. Sir Isaac Newton and other members of the British royal society once
dissected a dolphin in a coffeehouse, while Alexander Pope is said to have written “The Rape of the
Lock” based on overhead coffeehouse gossip. Doctors also saw patients in private rooms in
coffeehouses as well as consulted with pharmacists who dispensed medication.
• Serious business was also conducted in this environment. In London, a coffeehouse opened by
Edward Lloyd became a maritime meeting place where shipowners and the underwriters who insured
them exchanged news of ships, their cargos and auctions. So many underwriters rented booths at
the coffeehouse that the business had to move to larger quarters at which time it became known as
Lloyd’s of London.
• The London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange also took shape in coffeehouses
where merchants and brokers gathered for public auctions and to negotiate deals. The building that
housed Tontine’s coffeehouse that gave birth to the NYSE still stands at the corner of Wall and Water
Streets.
• Last year the U.S. Senate began holding bi-partisan, brainstorming legislative sessions in
Washington, D.C.’s Café Karma. “It was a great opportunity for us to . . . start thinking outside the
legislative box,” Vice President Joe Biden had said. Senators credited the café’s “fresher coffee,”
artistic atmosphere, and youthful staff and clientele with helping them overcome old obstacles and
come up with, among other ideas, a new proposal for stem-cell research

URL to article: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-18/lifestyle/a-brief-

and-scandalous-history-of-coffee-and-coffeehouses

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Find a Wi-Fi hotspot near you

Posted By joseph.pena On May 15, 2009 @ 4:22 pm In Arts & Entertainment, Food Toolbox, Lifestyle |
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3 Bruegger’s Bagels
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-11 locations in San Diego
-Unlimited free wireless

-Free coffee refills for customers who purchase a Bruegger’s mug

The Living Room

-5 locations in San Diego

-24 hours of free wireless for a minimum $6

purchase in the café

Panera Bread

-12 locations in San Diego

-Unlimited free wireless

- Free coffee and soda refills

Peet’s

-3 locations in San Diego (not including licensed

stores in supermarkets, etc.)

-Two hours of free wireless service

-Obtain free access code from cashier; no purchase required

-Additional outlets recently installed along walls; outlets also available in the ceiling

San Dieg o Public Library

-37 locations in San Diego

-Unlimited free wireless

-No food or drink permitted

-Limited hours; check your local branch.

Starbucks

-Two consecutive free hours of wireless with use of stored-value Starbucks card

-Registered card entitles users to free coffee refills

-TIP: The Starbucks on Pearl in La Jolla benefits from the free Wi-Fi signal from the adjacent
Bruegger’s Bagels

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Places you may not expect to find free Wi-Fi

-Supermarkets (Whole Foods, Von’s, Ralph’s)

-Bookstores (Barnes & Noble/B Dalton/Bookstar)

-Most Chain Hotels

-Mission Federal Credit Union

- The UPS Store

-San Diego Airport Food Court

-Denny’s

-EZ Lube

For other free Wi-Fi locations visit www.wi-fihotspotdirectory.com [1] or wififreespot.com/ca.html [2]

Article printed from San Diego News Network: http://www.sdnn.com

URL to article: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-15/lifestyle/find-a-wi-fi-hotspot-

near-you

URLs in this post:

[1] www.wi-fihotspotdirectory.com: http://www.wi-fihotspotdirectory.com/

[2] wififreespot.com/ca.html: http://wififreespot.com/ca.html

Copyright © 2009 San Diego News Network. All rights reserved.

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