Bars and Starbucks: Finding Your "Third Place"
The town of Garrison, in the book Little Chapel On The River, seems tiny and old fashion compared to my big Chicago suburb of Wilmette Il. Surrounded by malls, Starbucks, fancy restaurants and even more malls the idea of an old-fashion bar seems almost foreign. Why go to a bar, when you can get a nice bottle of wine and dinner at a luxurious restaurant?
In the article “An Army of David’s” the author Glenn Reynolds discuss this issue of place. Places like the bar in Garrison are unique. Americans are turning more towards Starbucks and Borders to fulfill the “third place” as Reynolds calls it. The Borders hangout “illustrates how capitalism, combined with personal technology [such as laptops and cell phones], can promote community”. Americans need this designated “third place” because there is a “push” to get out of the office and a “pull” that allows people to be productive through technological advancements. The town of Garrison along with crowded Starbucks and Borders demonstrate that people need a common place just to feel part of a community.
posted by anonymous @ 10:53 PM
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Glenn Reynolds article, An Army of Davids, is a compelling argument in support of the growing trend of super chains across the United States. Reynolds believes that chains are filling a void in the day to lives of average citizens and neighborhoods as a whole, by giving them a place to share together. In the article, Reynolds contends that "Communities are surely benefiting from the introduction of pleasant third places where they didn't exist before". What Reynolds fails to realize is that pleasant third places have always existed and that super chains such as Borders and Starbucks are what is destroying them.
Because of their size, Borders and other chains of that magnitude are able to move into communities and sell their products at a loss in an effort to uproot the local businesses which cannot afford to lower their prices. Many of the local stores being driven out have been pillars of the community for years but simply can't survive the economic pressure being applied by these commercial giants.
Reynolds also fails to acknowledge that real people being affected in his scenarios. Borders, the store that he trumpets as the new wave in community, is a faceless conglomerate controlled by a board of directors far removed from the day to day happenings at each of their stores. Conversely, many local businesses are run by the same person who owns the store. Local owners see to it that their store caters to the community around them. Often they will know all their, attend the same place of worship, participate in local organizations or have kids who played together with their customers. Most importantly, local owners care about local communities while mammoth chains care only about the bottom line.
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