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1 Int'l J. Soc. Sci. Stud. 205 (2013)
The Social Transformation of Coffee Houses: The Emergence of Chain Establishments and the Private Nature of Usage

handle is hein.journals/ijsoctu1 and id is 453 raw text is: International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 1, No. 2; October 2013 ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfamne Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com The Social Transformation of Coffee Houses: The Emergence of Chain Establishments and the Private Nature of Usage Rachael A. Woldoff1, Dawn Marie Lozzi, & Lisa M. Dilks' 'Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia Correspondence: Rachael A. Woldoff, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, PO Box 6326, 307 Knapp Hall, Morgantown WV, 26506-6326, USA. Tel: 1-304-293-8831. E-mail: rachael.woldoff@mail.wvu.edu. Received: March 12, 2013 Accepted: March 26, 2013 Available online: August 13, 2013 doi: 10.11114/ijsss.vli2.200 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v1i2.200 Abstract Ray Oldenburg (1989) developed the concept of third places as environments that offer friendship and a sense of community. However, the idealized image of the coffee house may need revision. In recent decades coffee houses have transformed from small-scale businesses to corporate-owned franchises, and with the advent of personal electronic devices many people now use them to work rather than to socialize. Using unobtrusive observation data from three independently-owned and three chain-based coffee houses in the Boston area, this research examines the ways in which modern coffee houses live up to or defy Oldenburg's social expectations of a third place. Two key findings reveal that: 1) people increasingly use coffee houses as both a social sphere and a private zone to work, read, and use electronic devices; and 2) chain coffee houses, though often criticized for their sanitized lack of character, may better meet customers' new third place needs by providing a wider variety of amenities (e.g., types of seating, food, and media) and free services that are in high demand (e.g., Wi-Fi). Keywords: third place, urban spaces, public spaces, coffee house, caf6, neighborhoods 1. Introduction Researchers have long been fascinated with public spaces and the meanings they hold for individuals and communities (Goffman, 1959, 1963, 1971; Lofland, 1973). In particular, sociologists have celebrated coffee houses as third places that promote friendship and community while serving as an alternative to socialization at home and work (Oldenburg, 1989). However, coffee houses vary in the extent to which they fulfill these functions. Furthermore, two major transformations in the form and function of coffee houses may affect their utility as third places. First, there has been a shift in coffee house usage and culture from people using them primarily as public places for socialization to using them as shared spaces for work and productivity. The notion of the caf6 as an environment to foster geniality and communication stems from a larger discourse about the functions of public places for cities (Whyte, 1988; Zukin, 2010). Historically, urban researchers have asserted that coffee houses serve as ideal spaces for people to speak freely about political and social concerns (Cowan, 2004; Oldenburg, 1989; Pincus, 1995), but with the rise of portable electronic devices and telecommuting, an increasing number of people now use coffee houses less for socializing and more as a hub for reading, working, and productivity (Bazelon, 2009). A second significant transformation is associated with ownership. The transition from small, locally-owned coffee houses to chain-owned caf6s has been well documented (Zukin, 2010). The popular image of a bohemian coffee house includes a devaluation of uniformity as illustrated by casual, artistic, or shabby furnishings and a lack of emphasis on branding. This lack of homogeneity often extends to employees' attitudes, behaviors, and appearance, as well as to the coffee and food (Oldenburg, 2001). In theory, residents should be more likely to support locally-owned businesses as a way of giving back to the community (Mohr, Webb, & Harris, 2001). Chain coffee shops, in contrast, are associated with corporate standards of cleanliness, bland simplicity, and prominent branding. Chain customers are stereotyped as having a low commitment to creative endeavors and desirous of upscale environments without regard for aesthetic distinctiveness, cultural motifs, and the details of how and why a coffee house runs the way it does (Roseberry, 1996). Furthermore, owners of chain businesses view the local community as an afterthought, failing to prioritize the interests of the residents they serve and thereby undermining the caf's 205

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