The Emergent Art of Anti-Hospitality
The Sidecar, Vol V. No. 7
Thoughts
When I was young, I would accompany my father to a local coffee shop in Vancouver, BC called Bean Around the World Coffees, or more affectionately known as just, “The Bean.” The vine-framed front window overlooks West 10th Ave, and a warm environment with wood floors, a wooden bar and black chalkboard menus beckons customers to take refuge from the oft gray and rainy days. A barista named Max would make me a hot chocolate when I was in-tow, and he knew my dad’s name and order by heart. Right between the university campus where he was studying and our home on West 10th Ave, The Bean served as an “in-between” place. It was where my dad did most of his reading, writing and studying, and wasn’t an uncommon place to see neighbors, colleagues or fellow church goers from our neighborhood.
A bit further up the street, Starbucks was making its own splash onto the early-2000’s coffee scene. Expanding from Seattle, Starbucks had found its identity in being the same kind of “in-between” place that The Bean was. Urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg wrote about these spaces in the 80’s and 90’s, with the coined term “third place” emerging from his sequel to The Great Good Place appropriately titled, Celebrating the Third Place. These places offered a welcoming environment that was neither your home nor your office, but sought to meet you in between the two. The place where you would see neighbors and colleagues, be able to meet with friends, or simply sit quietly and enjoy a book in what writer Emily McGowan calls, “solitude without loneliness.” In an early 2000’s interview, Kelly, a Starbucks manager at the time, said, “We want to provide all the comforts of your home and office. You can sit in a nice chair, talk on your phone, look out the window, surf the web… oh, and drink coffee too.”
In 2022, Starbucks’ corporate blog published an article titled, “Reimagining the Third Place.” This reimagination brings to mind what you have observed from your recent Starbucks experiences. It includes, “modernization of existing stores..that enables greater efficiency,” and “diversifying stores across cafes, pick up stores, drive-thru-only and delivery-only locations.” In reimagining the third place, it seems as though Starbucks lost sight of what the thing at hand really was. Author Jay Mandel reflects on Starbucks writing, “I realize that Starbucks provided more than caffeine and a place to sit. It offered a sense of belonging, a space where ideas could flourish and connections could deepen. It truly embodied the concept of a “third place”…a vital space in between where community and creativity thrived.” One does not need a rigorous analysis to determine that drive-thru-only, delivery-only, and pick up stores do not aim at fostering an environment wherein both community and creativity can thrive.
This juxtaposition is deeply important, because if we want human flourishing, creativity and community are both essential. A third place gives rise to these channels without the formal boundaries of school or work. Creating and being in community can be done voluntarily, engaging in both for the satisfaction of the things themselves, rather than for the outside aims of generating shareholder value or a good grade. A good third place becomes a sort of Eden: where we are called by our name, enter into relationship and are invited to participate in the creative act.
Sometime in the last decade we hit a tipping point that started a downhill slide for these kinds of places. This has generated a snowball effect: As these places decline, fewer people have context for them. As they age, either as workers or customers, they do not steward these spaces in the same way as those who came before. The general degradation of community is no new phenomenon, as we have been individually “Amusing Ourselves to Death” for quite some time. The pandemic accelerated this individual isolationism–one where coffee lovers are more comfortable tapping a screen than having to face a short greeting with a real human to place their order, much less be exposed to sitting in public to sip their coffee. And the market has responded, “modernizing” existing stores to, “reduce complexity and enable greater efficiency.” While it sounds good on paper, when translated it means less indoor seating, more impersonal greetings, extra counter space for pick ups and additional standing room for silent strangers to dash away after receiving their orders.
As a massive organization, Starbucks may well have bigger fish to fry, but unfortunately this same erosion is bleeding into local shops that have always stood against large chains. Shop owners can only insulate themselves so much from larger economic trends, and often capitulate in similar ways for the same sake of “reducing complexity and enabling efficiency.” The hard pill to swallow is that cultivating spaces where relationships and ideas flourish is rarely “simple” or “efficient.” Yet so few are willing to pay the price or take the risk.
I hope that the tides of culture can shift in a way to embrace these places once more. Broadly, folks are starving for human flourishing, and there is a great opportunity for sparks awaiting anyone who seeks to establish, maintain and cultivate these kinds of spaces. I myself am no exception. So I will carry on hoping that dutiful patronage to the places most resembling a “third” casts a small vote in opposition to cutting hours, reducing quality, and allowing this new art of anti-hospitality to emerge.
Until next time,
Extras
📚 The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix - This fun, choose-your-own-adventure book blends graphic novel and narrative history tracing the backgrounds of “Jack” and “Tollers” as their lives would eventually intersect. A welcome departure from a simple memoir or biography.
🎬 Interstellar - Re-released in IMAX for the 10th anniversary, I got the chance to rewatch this Christopher Nolan masterpiece. In IMAX I felt locked-in and focused on details in the script I felt that I’d never noticed. Overall my favorite aspect of the film is how Cooper’s sense of agency and adventure stands in opposition to the complacent nature of the rest of the population—one that is ready to roll over and die by keeping the status quo.
🎵 Fred Again.. Rooftop Live (Arun’s Roof, London) [DJ Mix] - This live mix is very different than his Boiler Room set I featured sometime last year. But it notched a very high position on my Apple Music Replay for the year, and I believe for good reason. (Speaking of which, if you’re passionate about music you should really look into why Apple Music is / is becoming a better platform for it than Spotify) *ducks to avoid tomatoes*
🍾 Levert Crémant De Bourgogne Brut - I’ve been widening my horizons lately by being on a bit of a bubbles kick. With tight regulations surrounding the production of Champagne, Crémant is made throughout several regions of France with nearly identical technique to Champagne without the same exclusivity & associated cost. For the holidays, I encourage an early-day kickoff of bubbles instead of wondering whether 2pm is an appropriate time to open a big red. Bourgogne, Alsace and Loire are all high on my list for Crémant so far, and I do prefer it to Prosecco. Cheers!
Thank you for reading, I sincerely appreciate it. I would love to hear from you, whether it be your thoughts on anything above, or any recommendations on food, wine, music, books, movies, shows, etc. that could find their way into a future issue. Or simply drop me a note to say hello! Reach me at writejohnduffy@protonmail.com - I look forward to hearing from you.
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