Coffee Shops Unplug Wi-Fi

Some coffeehouses are finding that getting rid of the service boosts sales and a friendlier atmosphere.

August 11, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO - Coffeehouses are finding that Wi-Fi isn??t always conducive to increasing sales and some shops are pulling the plug on Internet connections, the Los Angeles Times reports.

For example, Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco offers a vintage coffee roasting machine but no Wi-Fi, while the Coupa Café allows Internet connections during the week but nixes the service on the weekend.

"We had big parties or family groups who wanted to eat but had no room," said Jean Paul Coupal, one of Coupa??s owners. "They were getting upset about it. They felt the whole place was being taken over by techies."

When Starbucks converted to free Wi-Fi, some coffeehouses decided to cut off their own Internet service in order to establish a friendlier atmosphere. "There is now a market niche for not having Wi-Fi," said Bryant Simon, a Temple University history professor who wrote "Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks."

When Downbeat Café??s Wi-Fi malfunctioned, owners Dan and Nathalie Drozdenko turned it off and were surprised at how many compliments they received for being Internet-free. "People come here because we don??t offer it. They know they can get their work done and not get distracted," said Dan Drozdenko.

Free Wi-Fi plugged in customers who stayed a long time and bought only inexpensive cups of coffee. Now many coffee shops impose time limits in order to free tables for lunch and dinner customers.

And a daring few are finding life without Wi-Fi is returning their coffeehouses back into places where friends meet and conversation flows. "We just realized it was a mistake. People would just camp out for hours, literally eight hours on one cup of coffee. We only had 75 seats, and those were always full," said Jeremy Tooker of Four Barrel Coffee. "It killed the vibe, too."

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