Coffee shops ditch WiFi and laptops to limit remote work
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Some coffee shops across the country are trying to keep remote workers from taking over, nixing WiFi and laptops to dissuade Zoom squatters from setting up shop.
Why it matters: Many coffee spots have seen WFH-ers posting up for hours on video calls as they look for a "third space" that isn't their home office — causing overcrowding, affecting sales and detracting from a community feel.
The big picture: While many companies are now enforcing return-to-work policies, remote work numbers are still higher now than they were pre-pandemic, per the Census.
State of play: The execution varies, coffee shop honchos tell Axios. Some spots are all-in on the Luddite game — aka no internet or laptops at all. Others limit their use to certain time stretches or days of the week. And others? Well, they've simply taped over outlets.
- Meanwhile, Starbucks killed its open-door policy earlier this year, requiring that customers now have to purchase something to hang in their stores, browse the internet or use the restroom.
What they're saying: The reasons behind the no-WiFi game vary, say coffee shop owners. Some are against it to help their bottom line, others to ensure turnover and therefore increased access, and some are just all about the analog vibes.
- "We want it to be fair to all customers, and having somebody sit for hours and hours on hours instead of a WeWork — that doesn't serve our business or our community," says Lanny Grossman, who manages public relations for Devoción, a New York-based chain of coffee shops. "We want to have equity in terms of customer enjoyment."
Devoción began limiting customers' WiFi use to two hours during weekdays after remote work skyrocketed during COVID.
- Customers must get a code through an app to access the internet, and it's shut off entirely on weekends.
Meanwhile, when David Valdez opened his Detroit coffee shop, Alba, in 2023, he instituted a no-WiFi policy from the get-go.
- "We encourage engagement," he tells Axios. "That's only possible if you're not glued to your screen."
- Yes, but: Online diehards often bring their laptops into Alba and pirate internet access from a nearby storefront or use their hotspots, says Valdez.
Reality check: Some businesses have had their hands forced by the internet army. The D.C.-based café Elle started out sans WiFi, but after WFH picked up, they started getting angry Google reviews from customers jonesing for a hookup, owner Nick Pimentel tells Axios.
- So they caved, but on their own terms: Internet is only available Monday–Thursday from 8am–3pm, and they ask users to restrict their time to 1.5 hours.
- And the customers have to deal with their silly network names. The latest: "Cat butt."
Elle's bottom line played into the decision to cap internet usage, says Pimentel: "We can't have someone sitting there for three hours [on the weekend] with a cup of coffee while there's a wait for people who want to eat brunch."
The intrigue: There's been an increase in laptop users at Elle since DOGE layoffs started hitting D.C. earlier this year, says Pimentel.
- One day last month, he estimated about 80% of the people in the shop were on laptops and "job hunting, working on their resumés" or even taking interviews via Zoom.
Several of Elle's regulars are federal workers who lost their jobs, and the coffee shop has become a go-to spot for them to network, says Pimentel.
- And he's noticed many new daytime regulars he believes are also former feds.
- "They're always jokingly saying, 'Is Elle hiring?'" he says of the networking.
One unexpected upside: Actual human interaction that doesn't take place on a screen.
- "With the networking, it's been less computers and more face-to-face chatting," he says. "That's something we always wanted."
