One of the more quietly depressing things that has happened over the last few years in public space.
The US has always had a highly privatized public realm, but Starbucks used to be a major, nigh ubiquitous provider of third spaces.
Sadly now they are often the exact opposite.
@foxandcity I'm curious for an example of what has changed! I used to dawdle in Starbucks regularly years ago, and got a lot of important work done there. I tended towards smaller coffee shops more recently, or libraries, so I'm not sure what's changed in Starbucks locations?
@jmac @foxandcity A lot of them have been reducing their seating areas and emphasizing takeout counters and the mobile app. Some drinks are actually hard to order without using the mobile app now, too, and they killed the "Starbucks Reserve" stores a few years ago, which really leaned into the social space idea.
@chipotle @jmac @foxandcity It all comes down to capitalism. Starbucks and other eateries like it realize that they don't make a significant amount more to have you sit in a chair and use the wifi for hours if you only having 1 drink and a pastry.
@jmac While there are still plenty of Starbucks locations that follow the traditional model, as @chipotle said, a huge number, especially in downtown areas, have be "updated" to remove or minimize chairs and otherwise make them an uncomfortable place to be.
The company largely seems to no longer want to be a purveyor of space, but only of drinks, and that is a loss for all of us.
@foxandcity @chipotle I saw this firsthand with the Starbucks closest to me in NYC. It moved a few doors down, and in doing do downsized from a roomy space with two floors of seating to a smallish cube with a large pick-up counter and a handful of obligatory tables pushed against one wall. I didn't know that was a trend!