Remember when coffee shops had more chairs than electrical outlets?

Last week at that Blue Bottle in Brooklyn I counted 8 people fighting over 4 outlets and realized 3 years ago I could walk into any random cafe and find a spot with power no problem, anyone else notice this shift getting worse?

2 comments

2 Comments

sam_anderson15d ago

8 people over 4 outlets? Thats actually not that bad for Brooklyn standards. I saw a spot last weekend where someone had a power strip plugged into a power strip and two other people were sharing it like it was normal. But quick correction though I think you meant 3 years ago was 2022 and that was peak remote work chaos everywhere not exactly a golden age of cafe seating. The real shift happened around 2015 when every laptop owner decided the local coffee shop was their personal office. By 2020 the damage was already done.

willowc6015d ago

I switched to a thermos and a park bench near the public library in Williamsburg last summer. That spot has outdoor tables with no outlets to fight over, and I just charge my laptop at home before I go. Honestly, I started showing up at cafes right when they open at 7 AM. That early, the outlet hunters haven't arrived yet and I can grab a corner booth with power for a solid two hours before the chaos starts. The real trick is picking cafes that don't advertise free wifi on their chalkboard signs.