Downtown DC Starbucks – OCCUPIED by Coffee Shop Nation

a DCIFF Short

In downtown DC, the Starbucks found every few blocks all have their personalities. You don’t find the independents you see in Northern California I am familiar with. Not even a Pete’s (yes I know, NOT an independent.) But despite DCIFF’s natural penchant for independents in all things, this corporate shop does a good job.

The one at 18th and K Streets is small, and there’s always space. The one over on I Street is half vacant but a good Plan B for when you need wifi and a coffee and some quiet. But this one, at 15th and K is ground zero for Coffee Shop Nation. It’s in the heart of the “Golden Triangle” district. Down the street is the White House.

I meet there regularly with the DCIFF Exec Dir or to gather notes after a think tank presentation. It’s more like a Santa Cruz independent coffee shop than any other place in the District. The occupydc settlement is across the street. It’s also business, think tank, and lobby central. So there is quite a mix of people and Starbucks is handling the throng pretty well.

Bloggers, journalists, and occupiers dressed like Earth First activists amiable login to free wifi along the window counters, or outside at tables when the weather is decent. The bathrooms get heavy use but don’t bear the marks (and graffiti) you’d find at any establishment in Santa Cruz….
The Washington Examiner reporter who talked to me Wednesday was interested in the occupydc collateral effects on the shop. My remarks did not make the cut but you can read the article here.

It’s such an interesting scene, I wonder an American University student is not writing, or blogging, it up.