Comment by horsawlarway
6 months ago
And they always have been.
If you want people to just sit and eat - you're a restaurant.
If you want people to just order and leave - you're a food stall/truck.
Cafe's have always been the intermediate. A place to sit and read/discuss/write/work/hang out. While also occasionally going to the counter to buy small food or drinks.
If you're annoyed by this... don't run a cafe.
Simple & sane rules like "you have to order something to sit at a table" are hardly novel.
Even so, the economics may change over time. If the cafe's own expenses are going up, it has a difficult decision to raise prices (and lose business) or try to push through more business (and annoy customers).
In HCOL cities, the rents have pushed many coffee shops to incorporate hostile architecture. Especially in San Francisco.