Four Barrel coffee shop bans Wi-Fi

No internet connection for San Franciscan vendor

10 August 2010 12:35 GMT / By Rik Henderson

A popular coffee shop in San Francisco, USA, no longer offers in-shop Wi-Fi for customers, but has seen no drop in custom. Owner Jeremy Tooker claims that, since dropping the connection, business has boomed.

Speaking to the LA Times, Tooker states that the shop, housed in an old Warehouse, gets through 700lbs of coffee a week, and is always packed with customers.

However, some of them are finding ways to connect to the 'net from inside. The Wi-Fi connection on a housing development across the street can be accessed from the seats that range along the front-facing window. Additionally, some are bringing their own Internet dongles/personal Wi-Fi hotspots.

It doesn't bother Tooker though: "We don't glare at someone with a laptop", he told the paper. "But we don't cater to that person either".

Other venues are following suit. Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto bans Wi-Fi on weekends: "We had big parties or family groups who wanted to eat, but had no room", says Jean Paul Coupal, co-owner. "They were getting upset about it. They felt the whole place was being taken over by techies".

Of course, in the UK, we have very few independent coffee shops WITH Wi-Fi internet connectivity...

Would you visit a non-Wi-Fi coffee shop? Let us know in the comments below...

Four Barrel pic by Premshree Pillai.

Via: latimes.com

Full tags

Software, Internet, Coffee Shops, Four Barrels, San Francisco, Online