Building the Perfect Modern Cafe

This month, I’m in Chicago visiting family and friends. I forgot how strange internet fame is. I walked into a random Philz coffee shop and the barista taking my order told me he follows me on Twitter is a big fan. I posted up at the cafe while I worked from home and 10-12 people came by to say hello.

It helps that I am a remote worker. I sit at home, co-working offices or at cafes. I’m not in a private place all day cut off from the public. A CEO of a big company saw my tweets and DMed me. He told his next project is taking his money to open up cafes in New York City. He started asking me questions about what constitutes a “Great Cafe”.

I like working in cafes. The steady hum of background noise enhances my concentration, much like how static helps in tuning radio signals. A moderate level of background noise is desirable; it introduces just enough stress to sharpen mental focus without being overwhelming. However, there's a limit to this; excessive noise is counterproductive. For instance, working on an airport runway, with its extreme noise levels, would be far too distracting. Or working in a cafe with too loud of music blaring is just as worse.

Do you have trouble concentrating at home? Go to a cafe. Because the noise around you makes you overcompensate.

The Modern Cafe Problem

We’ve already figured out what great cafe is. Cafe Society was optimized over a century ago. That’s where people hung out to talk all day and night. Writers, artists, workers, etc. In the Vienna Coffeehouses there was even a time Stalin, Freud, Tito, Hitler and Trotsky all went to the same cafes.

Or the streets of Paris. They have built the best cafes.

The problem is those perfect cafes are optimized for the environment of their day. They are stuck in the past, designed for conversation, but the world has changed. Now, when Americans hit a cafe, it's not just to chat. They're there to work, lounge, plug into their devices, read, or just escape from the outside world in a cozy, aesthetically pleasing space. Cafes need to catch up, offering an environment that supports not just socializing, but also working, digital life, reading, and relaxation.

But it’s not an easy problem to solve. Sitting inside a Starbucks sucks. WeWork was supposed to usher in a new world of co-working but they went bankrupt. Other places that looked promising have tried but went out of business

We haven’t really figured out the modern cafe yet. It’s still in the process of being made. But people don’t want to be in the office and they don’t want to be home. There is a market for a third space.

Even banks like CapitalOne are getting into the cafe business. I’ve been in a few. They are decent actually. But not great. Trendy Companies have tried making their work places resemble Cafes. But it doesn’t work. Something is off.

In This Newsletter

1) The Interior Design Basics: There are certain fundamental design elements that interiors need to have in order for humans to be attracted to them. Many older buildings, due to Lindy patterns of building, have already incorporated them

2) Not Really an Office: People generally don’t like offices and don’t want to be in them unless they are forced to. Think of creativity, it requires a mixture - of sociability and solitude. I don't think you can write in an office very well.

3) Not Really a Cafe: Cafes are not optimized for modern work. You need meeting rooms, plugs, even external monitors to rent. It needs elements of both the corporate world and the old world cafe to fit the environment we live in now.

4) Public But Not Too Public: The Perfect Modern Cafe would be a mixed of paying members and walk-ins. The goal shouldn’t be exclusivity and cutting off from your environment, but there should be enough safeguards to prevent your cafe from becoming a trashy Starbucks or a homeless refuge Library.

5) Cats (and dogs) in the Cafe. In the past, it was quite common to find dogs or cats lounging around in mechanics' shops or various stores, a practice that added a unique charm and warmth to these places. What if we bring this back?

The Interior Design Basics

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