The rise of coffee houses and cafe culture is one which has dominated the world of leisure and hospitality in the last couple of decades. But what is it about these establishments that has appealed to us so much in recent times?
In this post, we will take a closer look at this phenomenon from a number of different angles to get more of an explanation about it. By the end, you may well be looking for your own ecoware to get involved in this growing trend. From Starbucks to Central Perk, let’s go into more detail about the economic and cultural factors behind the rise of coffee.
Chain of Command
Now one of the most famous brands in the world, it is hard to remember a time when there wasn’t a Starbucks on every corner. In 1994, there were over 400 stores in the US. Six years later in 2000, this number had shot up to over 4,500 globally, and then over 10,000 in 2005. Starbucks helped to make the coffee trend global, but it also helped to spark up a resistance as people who wanted to take on ‘big business’ began to open up their own independent coffee shops.
A Little Help from Friends
Did watching those six impossibly good looking friends sitting around in Central Perk without a care in the world help coffee houses? Well, it certainly didn’t hurt. Shows like Friends and Seinfeld helped to market big metropolitan cities to young people, bringing in a whole host of new coffee drinkers. As well as providing a place to sit and relax, carrying around a takeaway coffee cup became the universal sign of a busy person rushing off to somewhere important.
The Internet Strikes Again
Remember when the term cyber cafe was a thing? Nowadays, WiFi is expected in every coffee shop you enter, along with a host of people sitting on their laptops, tablets and phones busily working and creating - or at least looking like they are. And since there are more people working remotely, as freelancers or running their own business, coffee shops provide a makeshift office to more and more people every day.
Affordable Socialising
You might argue that the prices at Starbucks aren’t exactly cheap, but people don’t tend to drink latte after latte the way they would drink beer in a bar. So, coffee shops have provided a more affordable social setting for people during the day. And let’s face it, it might give off the wrong impression if you decide to hold a business meeting in the pub. With so many different types of coffee shops, each one has their own identity and attracts a certain type of person. You may be looking for somewhere warm and welcoming or somewhere you can be anonymous to get on with some work.
With coffee shops continuing to open up at a rapid rate, these are just a few of the reasons why this trend continues to be so hot.