> That guy that comes in for the same simple drink at the same time every morning, is worth more than someone who buys all the foof and never comes back.

I'm this guy. The interaction with a coffee shop changes once they start treating you as a regular. The arrangement is somehow more mutually beneficial than the simple exchange of money for goods. Sadly, I find fewer and fewer shops have this attitude. In my current city, I notice the hot shops have a wild rotation of baristas such that by the time they remember my order (it's a black americano, not rocket science) they've moved on.

Small, family owned-and-operated shops are by far a better experience than any chain, even of their coffee isn't quite as good as a Blue Bottle or a Philz.