Coffeeshop Observations

I stepped inside the coffee shop and was enveloped by warmth. At first glance, the line extended to the door, with a line of people in front of me, making the path more narrow for passersby that simply needed to access the other section of the cafe. The people in front of me were seemingly young professionals and couples - no children. The clerks behind the counter varied in focus. One man was telling jokes instead of focusing on the task at hand while the other three were adamant, focused, and attentive to the line. That being said, one of the baristas seemed visibly stressed and had shaky hands while making someone's latte. Given the amount of people in line, this makes sense to me. Upon gazing at the shop from the line, I noticed that most people sat equipped with a laptop and in the absence of a laptop, had brought a friend, partner, or family member to chat with. People use this space both for productivity and social purposes. Upon sitting down within the same nook, this became clearer.

 

First, I sat next to a business man who'd allowed me to sit adjacent to him. He'd intently focused on his laptop and made conference calls to various co-workers while jotting down notes and multitasking. Since the seat was next to the door, I noticed that many people would enter the line and leave with drinks because they were unable to find seats. I noticed that the amount of seats do not suit the amount of people who need them - more people want to access this space and utilize it, but it was not readily available. This happened to most families with strollers that required more space and likely contributes to the lack of families that sit down within the cafe; it is not as accessible to them as it is to young professionals, couples, and more. I also noticed that the accessibility button on the door was broken - as a couple of families tried to use it to open the door, but it was unresponsive so they had to open it themselves. This made me consider how landscapes can promote accessibility or exclusion. Handicap ramps help people with disabilities to access spaces that they could not otherwise. The selective choice to not repair the button is potentially hindering families and people with disabilities from using the space. Even though the space is already limited, they should still have equal access to try to use it and to make purchases at the cafe. After around 15 minutes, the man silenced his calls, packed his briefcase and departed the cafe. While no one occupied the seat beside me (since I'd placed my belongings there), a family managed to find space on the couch across from my table. This was the first family that I'd seen access the cafe throughout the day. The line had dwindled down, people began to leave, and timing likely played the largest role in their ability to sit upon a large couch beside the fireplace. Even without being able to see the full extent of the line from my seat, I noticed that the clammer and clips from behind the bar had dwindled and faded as the sun began to set. Overall, this experience of paying attention and notetaking about this landscape made me realize the impact of intention on building a new restaurant/cafe. With cafe's especially, the company wants to design a space for utilization, but this faces limitations with fire codes and a smaller space. These limitations can have social implications on who can easily access a space.

Done