Why some metro Detroit coffee shops are doubling down as ‘no laptop' zones

Yahoo

05-03-2025

Catherine Johnson, the sommelier and beverage manager at Flyleaf, a Grosse Pointe Farms bookstore, bistro and cafe, is on a video call.
Rows of hardcovers and paperbacks line her backdrop. Novels like M.L. Rio's "Graveyard Shift: A Novella" and "Middle of the Night" by Riley Sager frame her face. "Being in the space, there's something incredibly special that you feel at once like you're somewhere completely out of a fantasy novel and also like you're at home,' she said from a cozy nook in the shop. "Who wouldn't want to work here.'
It's a Monday afternoon and the shop is closed, but on a normal day of service, she'd be breaking the rules. It's after 11 a.m. and Flyleaf has recently implemented a new policy that prohibits guests from using laptops in the space once lunch service begins.
Cafés have become productive venues for remote workers and entrepreneurs to hold meetings and scratch tasks off their to-do lists. Here, the Wi-Fi is often free and the coffee free flowing.
Considered a "third place," a tertiary destination for people to gather outside of their home or office space, the café has become an especially sought-after spot amid a work-from-home boom in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home on days they worked in 2023, an 11% jump from pre-pandemic 2019. And that home away from home, for many, is a coffee shop.
Naturally, the increase of customers parking at tables to work behind their laptops for hours at a time can impact sales. Guests who occupy seating for long periods without making significant purchases beyond a beverage or two, take up space that might otherwise be available to several other customers within that timeframe.
The surge in remote workers at cafés also creates a dynamic that interferes with the jovial, communal customer experience that many shop owners aim to provide. Guests zeroed in on screens leaves little room for conversation and laughter over frothy cappuccinos and flaky pastries. A rotation of customers facilitating virtual corporate meetings creates a tense mood that is at odds with what once was a place for leisure, pleasure and ease.
It's why Johnson and the team at Flyleaf are among several café staffs across the region to implement no-laptop policies. In January, the multinational coffee chain Starbucks announced its own decision to roll back its open-door policy and reserve free Wi-Fi access for paying customers.
'It's a question of identity and the idea of creating a space that allows guests to step away from the chaos of the world that we live in and find enjoyment and pleasure in literature and wine and in food,' Johnson said of the intention of placemaking at Flyleaf.
Effective Jan. 2, Flyleaf's policy is meant to preserve the magic of the space.
The announcement, which was shared via social media, garnered both outrage and support among Flyleaf customers. Some questioned the purpose of the space — is it even a café if laptops aren't encouraged? Or, is it a restaurant? The policy seemed to put the space's intention in question. Johnson asserts that Flyleaf is equal parts bookshop and bistro.
'I've always felt strongly that hospitality's a pleasure and a privilege,' Johnson said. 'We get these great parts of people's days and sometimes we get to turn them around. Maybe it's that they had a rough day, and they come in and the interaction with us is a way to flip that narrative. Or, they're celebrating something really important — a milestone, a birthday, maybe even a loss. Being part of these crucial moments in people's lives is special and that's really what we want to be.'
Others, some small business owners, championed the policy, assuming the decision was made in an effort to drive sales by discouraging laptop users from parking at tables without making meaningful purchases. But according to Johnson, implementing the policy was not a matter of finances.
Warda Bouguettaya designed her Midtown café with a decided motive to discourage significant laptop usage among her clientele. At Warda Patisserie in Midtown, there are minimal outlets available and small, round tables are low, about knee-high tucked into equally low banquettes. The low positioning typifies the standard seating arrangement of a living room in Algeria, where Bouguettaya is from.
'I want you to feel like you are stepping away from the rush of whether it is the city, whether it is your life, whether it is what's happening in the world in general,' said Bouguettaya, who introduced a no-laptop policy on weekends when she believes guests should take their minds off of work. 'We wanted a space for people to slow down, enjoy the food and enjoy the conversation and we wanted to prioritize that experience before the laptop experience.'
The Eastern Market café, art gallery and music venue Trinosophes introduced its no-laptop policy on weekends prior to the pandemic to preserve its purpose as a convivial daytime gathering spot for an audience interested in the arts.
Though during the week, the primary customer at Trinosophes has an entrepreneurial spirit — graphic designers, artists, writers, freelancers in various creative industries frequent the place — co-owner and quasi-creative director Rebecca Mazzei wants the café to foster interaction.
'In my mind, it's about vibe but it's also extremely practical,' Mazzei said. 'We have these community tables that came from an exhibition, which we started using as dining tables and it's really hard on weekends to dine next to someone who's on a laptop.'
A partition separates the Trinosophes café from an event space and gallery where art pieces are on display. Evenings, guests pile into the venue to watch local musicians take the stage.
'Distinct for us, because we're also an art space, is that we really want people to come in and feel like they can decompress and wander the space and look at their neighbors and read a book. It's not really about turning tables — people will sit and read a book for hours — it's about giving our customers access to a different kind of experience on weekends.'
Mazzei said the café's position just outside of Eastern Market also plays a role in the decision to enforce a no-laptop policy on weekends. Thousands of visitors pass through Eastern Market, and a stop into Trinosophes should be an extension of the trip. Many will crowd into the space for bites of buttermilk biscuit egg sandwiches, creamy soups and other vegetarian dishes. The feel of a café as a workspace is the antithesis of a leisurely Market experience.
'We're not anti-tech, it's just that life is stressful,' she said. 'We really love the neighborhood that we're in, especially when it comes to life on the weekends. We get just as many out-of-towners as we do locals and we want to give them a true market experience.'
Mazzei and co-owner Joel Peterson tested variations of the policy over the years before landing on the weekend laptop ban. They at one point designated specific tables for laptop use, which created more frustration among customers than it was worth.
Other local businesses have tried strategies, such as timing out Wi-Fi availability and taping over outlets to prevent guests from plugging in clunky chargers. At The Congregation in the historic Boston Edison District, free Wi-Fi access now times out after four hours. An initial two-hour policy was met with resistance among customers resulting in the change. At places like Alba in Corktown and Anthology Coffee near Eastern Market, Wi-Fi is entirely unavailable.
Despite the economic implications that the laptop user presents for a café's bottom line, the consensus among coffee shop operators is that it's less about money and more about mood.
'For better or for worse, we don't really think like business owners,' Mazzei said. 'It's kind of like when you go to your parent's house and they're like, 'Get off your phone, you're here to hang out with me.' That's what the vibe is like for the weekend.'
Johnson, in fact, says the team at Flyleaf encourages guests to park at a table to enjoy the full breadth of offerings at the multihyphenate establishment. Guests who stay for longer periods can enjoy coffee and pastries in the morning, tasty salads and sandwiches at lunch, wine and cocktails in the evening and an array of books all day. Or, they can sip slowly on a single beverage for hours while conversing with friends.
'We love to see people playing games at the tables and putting life down and joining whoever you're with in this space. That's kind of the idea,' Johnson said. Conversely, hours spent in front of a laptop, she said, is a different interaction. 'Perhaps a performance review being done on Zoom has a very different feel than a couple having a nice bite out just three or four feet away.'
Bouguettaya acknowledges the financial impact laptop users have on the business and how the policy has helped.
'A person with a laptop in most cases will just grab a drink, grab one thing and then stay for long periods of time,' she said. 'And especially for our space, if you are taking one table, that means you are kind of taking two to three places.'
The policy, she said, not only allows the team to change more tables during their most frequented days, it also allows them to fulfill the core intention of the space.
'We want our guests to remember that it's OK to slow down and that as humans, we are not designed to be working seven days a week,' she said. 'I do not come from a hustle culture but an, 'I'm coming over to see you and catch up this afternoon,' kind of culture. Our space is a space for life and to enjoy your time with your friends, family or yourself, listening to music and the clatter of platters. A laptop shouldn't join your meal — even more so on weekends.'
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cafés are for coffee, not office work, owners say amid laptop bans