ESSENTIAL COFFEE SHOP BEHAVIOR
- Make multiple purchases if using a table and/or WiFi for multiple hours. A coffee shop is not a community center and nobody is entitled to “office” for free. They’re running businesses. Act accordingly.
- Leave tips! (See previous point)
- Don’t be an outlet hoarder. If you’re fully charged and someone is obviously looking around at the walls in an agitated fashion, offer to switch seats. This is what I like to call “outlet karma.” One day you will need an outlet. Be a giver.
- Coffee shops are NOT for long business calls. Seriously, people. This place is not actually your office.
- If your child is watching a video without headphones, you should probably be working from home that day and possibly banned from coffee shops forever.
- Let’s just make an overall “no video without headphones EVER” rule. It’s never acceptable to watch a video in public without headphones. Even for a minute.
BEST COFFEE SHOPS IN MY PART OF TOWN
Warning: this list is not representative of Minneapolis other than the small part of town where I have time to drive, get work done, and still pick up my kids from school. As this guide was not an assignment for a local publication, I don’t have to pretend I drive to some uber-hip corner of South Minneapolis with cleverly-named doughnuts or The North Loop, which would mean more time driving than working. So before you local readers point out that all my favorite spots are within five miles of highway 100 and Minnetonka Blvd, I’m already aware of that fact.
RUSTICA:
I go to Rustica in St. Louis Park several afternoons a week. It’s right next to Barnes and Noble, which feels inspiring in some cosmic way. The food is delicious, but beware of the beckoning chocolate chip and the bittersweet chocolate cookies, which can become a dangerous habit. They added more eggs to the breakfast options and they rotate the salads, sandwiches, and soups. Today I had a white bean and kale soup. Fantastic. The table next to the sugar/cream/utensil stand is very drafty. And the tables closest to the window can create a bad glare at a certain time of day. Otherwise it’s a good set up, though the tables are close together so don’t show up with major brain work to do. I come to Rustica for editing or for social media stuff, rarely to write a first draft. Almost no outlets. Arrive fully charged.
STARBUCKS SLP (THE ONE ACROSS FROM YUM):
I’m sorry to follow up a stellar independent shop with something as mundane as Starbucks, but a peaceful atmosphere exists in this particular location, and I spend quite a bit of time there for real writing. It’s much bigger than it looks from the outside, and since most people seem to use this Starbucks for the drive-through, it’s quiet. If you say hello and I do that weird half-smile/half-nod thing, I am actually writing and not just putzing around on social media. Lots of outlets. Yum, across the street, is one of my favorite lunch places and bakeries in the area, but it’s not a working spot.
CARIBOU (THE ONE BY WHOLE FOODS)
The only Caribou in the SLP area where I can get work done is this one. The one by Lifetime SLP is a disaster and the one next to Bruegger’s by West End is even worse. This location is a pleasant place to work now that they’ve remodeled. Note: Caribou’s coffee is my least favorite in the city and there is not one thing worth eating at any location. If you need to run to the grocery store for dinner before picking up the kids from school, this is a great option. You’re here for the work space and caffeine emergency in this scenario, not for a snack. The cinnamon rooibos tea is legit.
MUNKABEANS
Moving into Hopkins now, I love Munkabeans, a quirky coffee shop and breakfast/lunch spot across from Hopkins Center for the Arts (where I co-teach a writing class once a week). There are not many tables so do not assume you can or should spend hours there. If you need more time, breakfast is quieter.
OTHER RANDOM GOOD SPOTS
I don’t get to these other spots often, but depending on where my kids are at camp and what else is going on during random weeks, I will write in the following places: Sparrow Cafe by Lake Harriet, Dunn Brothers on Xerxes, Common Roots on Lyndale, Starbucks at 50th/France, Caribou at 169/Bren Rd, Dunn Brothers in Hopkins. (The Depot in Hopkins is remodeling. I look forward to seeing a new and improved space.)
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22 Responses
I don’t work in coffee shops pretty much ever, but those rare times when I do…SO MANY VIOLATIONS OF THESE AWESOME RULES. My biggest beef is the phone call people. Go. Outside. Already. I might have to start secretly taping a copy up wherever I go. (Also envisioning the circumstances that led to this post, Nina!)
And I am here to plug the Tiny Letter! I subscribe and it is totally great. If you are holding out, you are missing out.
I am not kidding that I wrote this in Rustica (the first place listed) NEXT TO a kid listening to a video while the mom and a friend enjoyed a visit.
Loved this! I wish the people who really needed to know about the problem with extended convos would read this but alas, I can’t imagine the subset of people who read your blog and the subset of people rude enough to do that intersect.
#Truth
This needs to be printed up in every coffee shop.
Also, I love Caribou. I went when I was in Minnesota several years ago at the Mall of America. I wish I could have that every day!
A few people have disagreed with me about Caribou!
These rules are spot-on. With the advent of technology, people tend to forget common sense etiquette. I am with Kristen – every single person does not need to hear your conversation. Take it outside or in your car.
Exactly!
Brooklyn has a thriving coffee shop culture. I think it’s because our apartments are so small! 🙂 It’s nice to have a pick of indie coffee shops each with its own vibe. There’s one near me that is so dark it feels like I’m in a cave. I think some people like that cozy feeling, but I’m old and I need to be able to see properly.
Looking forward to the next Tiny Letter!
I’m with you! Am all about light and not being too cold.
I love this list Nina! I can’t stand plug hoarders or people who take up a big table with no intention to share. I love a good cafe to write in, and miss my old Bklyn favorites.
Forgot to mention the big tables for ONE.
Boy, someone should have commissioned this piece from you because it is brilliant. I love the people watching that I can sometimes do. I drift out of whatever piece I am trying to pull out of me and write scenario in my head of the people I see. I am certain I get a moony look on my face, but these flights of fancy are incredibly nourishing on a creative level.
Someone totally should have commissioned this! 😉
You should print this out and give it to your coffee shops to post on the wall (by the outlets). Seriously, no videos out loud should be obvious, but apparently it’s not. I sound like such a curmudgeon, but I feel like at some point common courtesy stopped being common sense.
Annie Neugebauer recently posted..A Poetry Buffet
Yes! By the plugs, of course.
I feel the same way about plugs at the airport. Karma will catch up to those people who hog the plugs! We used to have a Caribou in town but it closed and was replaced by a coffee shop owned by locals. Usually, the local guys get pushed out of business by the chains but just the opposite here.
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That IS nice to hear for once!
OMG, there was an older (like 70-ish) dude at Starbucks recently with a super old flip phone and EVERY letter he typed made this abhorrent and loud beeping sound. After a while I couldn’t stand it, and I debated saying something to him (nicely) because I was sure he had NO idea that that noise wasn’t acceptable… but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. 🙂
I love this! I too choose my coffee shop depending on the type of work I’m doing, the weather (glare is the worst!), and whether I’m on a low-carb diet at the time. 🙂 I can tune out other people’s conversations easily, but recently a woman was _singing_ her responses at the table behind me. That was hard to put up with!
I can’t believe I’ve never been to any of those coffee shops. Rustica is on my list to try. Agree with all of your rules!
I love that you’ve scoped these places out enough to have a list! You are a coffee shop aficionado, for sure! The guy conducting business on the phone with a booming voice slays me. Also, the two friends who act as if they are in their living room chatting rather than a room full of patrons. Thank you for the inside track on what a bitch your school’s PTA President is and how unappreciated you feel at home. The world is a better place now that you let EVERYONE IN IT know. 😉
I had to take a little break from my coffee shop circuit for the above reasons. I do like the feeling that I’m out in the world a little and not so isolated like I feel when I’m at home. However, I’m so grateful to be able to choose either as a place to work!
Fun post, Nina!