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rue story: In the early 1990s, having been hooked on a certain up-and-coming national coffee chain that had no locations in metro Phoenix yet, I began mail-ordering a monthly supply of its coffee. Every time I called in my order (yes, called; this was before e-commerce on the web) I urged them to open in Scottsdale. Their reply was: “Our market research shows that it’s too hot in the Phoenix area for people to enjoy coffee.” Little did they know that we’ve been supporting coffee and breakfast places for decades — long before air-conditioning, baristas and free Wi-Fi were all the rage.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg proposed the idea of having a “third place” in our lives – home, work and a place to gather, like a coffee shop. So where is your “third place,” and does it involve coffee, tea or breakfast food?…