Starbucks sales tumble as customers reject high-priced coffee

For me, the whole point of Starbucks and other coffeehouses is a place with tables where you hang out, socialize, use the WiFi, stick around a few hours. Many of us would refer to the coffee prices as "table rent", because we acknowledged that their revenue went mostly towards maintenance and cleaning of the tables and restrooms we were using for many hours on a few bucks' worth of beans. And, if we were polite, we made sure to refill our cups every couple of hours, and be hungry again and again, if we camped out for extended periods.

The pandemic and the delivery apps like DoorDash have really put the crunch on third spaces, especially around here! I live in a college town, and even so, restaurants have shut their doors, and several have popped up anew as drive-thru-only, such as coffeehouses as well as fast-food restaurants.

For someone like me, owning no vehicle, and often hiking through the urban jungle on foot or public transit, we need restaurants as way stations, somewhere to relax and use the facilities, or we won't walk down the street!

All the homeless folks are camped out at bus stops, because they're being kicked off the buses and the train now. There are basically no other benches or shaded areas to rest if you're a pedestrian walking down the street. It seemed impossible that this metro area could become even more car-centric, but it has.