Boston-area cafés grapple with remote work
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Boston-area coffee shops are trying to strike a balance between welcoming patrons who work remotely and preventing them from hogging table space other customers would use.
Why it matters: Coffee shops nationwide are grappling with the same issue, with some shops cutting off WiFi or banning laptops altogether.
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.
- Others have 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.
Zoom in: One South Boston coffee shop, Greystone, has banned laptops at its tables in hopes of fostering in-person connections, CBS Boston reported.
- Remnant Brewery in Bow Market, which sells coffee and tea alongside booze during the day, started asking patrons last year to put away their laptops at night to make room for the crowds at the bar and their nighttime events.
- Lovestruck Books, a Harvard Square bookstore and cafe that opened in January, also offers a compromise for remote workers. It allows laptop and iPad use at its tables, day and night, with free WiFi — but limits table seating to one hour on Saturdays and Sundays until 4pm.
What they're saying: "Our goal is to foster an environment for all guests to enjoy whether they wish to work on their next novel or disconnect from devices," Lovestruck wrote on Instagram in March.
Steph's thought bubble: This is why we can't have nice things.
- Jokes aside, as a remote worker, this trend makes it clear that we need to up our etiquette when it comes to working at coffee shops and bars, from limiting time spent at tables to ordering more drinks or food every once in a while to patronize the shop.
- Don't like it? Work from the library, or a place like Shy Bird.