Show that you care: scrub the floorboards, paint a mural on the ceiling, throw in some indoor plants, and make sure everyone knows that the service is "Not Slow" but … instead that you just "Make one cup at a time."
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Encourage laptop abuse: aside from the Beastie Boys playing on the stereo and the polished grunge implying this is what Starbucks tries to be, Ritual Coffee is a great … place to read other people's email. For fun, try to find table that doesn't have a laptop, or failing that, just stand up and at the top of your voice say "My pager battery is going flat, is there a free power outlet somewhere?".
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Get an old-school video game: a tabletop Space Invaders or Ms. Pac Man will not only keep the gen-xers happy, but it's functional as well. At Muddy's, you're also usually … going to find at least one of the other prerequisites for a proper Mission coffee house -- a person fresh from a nearby yoga studios (smell the love).
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Have attitude: the baristas here put out the message that "You must be at least this cool to work here." Looking to impress them? Just mention you spend two months of the … year working with homeless children in Kosovo. Or keep quiet and be content to merely bask in the coolness.
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Impersonate the secondhand furniture store: when you first walk in, it's hard to tell if you just walked into someone's house or a furniture showroom. But if you go back … far enough, you will eventually find a person who can drive the espresso machine. A bunch of well-located electrical outlets for laptop junkies helps with repeat sales.
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Buy furniture from the secondhand store next door: you may as well insure that you have a regular supply of new tables and chairs. And if you search around enough, you … can usually find a chalkboard or two for the menus. Shopping local also means that you can enlist the homeless guy out front to help move the furniture.
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Sponsor local art: you need something on the walls, so you may as well help the local community as well. Hosting live performances as well only helps. And, art … installations in the windows get you bonus points.
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