100 coffee shops

keep austin weird
Originally uploaded by yi.

(I don't like the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan as it relates to retail, because it implies that independent retail is strange. It isn't. But as a slogan it certainly encapsulates the importance of identity and authenticity.)

From "10,000 coffee shops* -- *Well, 50 this week, 50 next week. The caffeine makes it feel like more," in the Austin American-Statesman. From the article:

One hundred coffee shops.

Only six represent national chains. Four were selected from local conglomerates. The rest — true blue independents. Independent coffee shops are oases of personal expression in great deserts of chain-ification. They cluster in the city, but serve even more vital community and entertainment functions away from downtown.

During our 100-shop tour, we found that, in the urban core, baristas tend to be twentysomethings. In the suburbs, they are teens. In the exurbs, they are just as likely to be retired free spirits.

We can confirm that, despite the silence of the laptoppers, coffee shops are not libraries with espresso machines. It's safe to talk. (If you don't, nobody will, in some places.) And it's not a true coffee shop if anyone raises a penciled eyebrow of disdain because you've commandeered a table for three hours.

This week, we describe the first 50 shops, Austin Java through Jollyville Java, alphabetically speaking. Next week, Jo's Hot Coffee through Zoombaz.

Index Keywords: retail