When I grew up there were coffee shops, not places that more or less exclusively served coffee and snacks. Coffee shops were diners and casual restaurants, which often had counters with stools for individuals. There was a local chain of them in our area that my family loved to frequent. Now, it’s fast food and Starbuck’s. But does a cup of coffee mean communication or just a cup ‘o joe while surfing the web, sitting alone, and isolated? Is it just the older retired people who actually meet at the local coffee spot to talk and people watch?
