Indie coffee shops are meant to counter corporate behemoths like Starbucks - so why do they all look the same?

[marmar]

Indie coffee shops are meant to counter corporate behemoths like Starbucks – so why do they all look the same?
Published: March 11, 2026 8:28am EDT

Conrad Kickert
Associate Professor of Architecture, University at Buffalo
Jeffrey Parker
Assistant Professor of Urban Sociology, University of New Orleans
Kelly Gregg
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, University at Buffalo


(The Conversation) Like many young, urban professionals, we run on coffee. We especially enjoy frequenting independently owned cafes that pride themselves on ethically sourced beverages, strong local ties and a hip aesthetic.

They’re the kinds of places that sneer at the homogenization and predictability of Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Dunkin and Starbucks.

But as public space and consumer culture researchers, we began noticing a pattern: While the invention of new, nondairy milks to mix into lattes continues to amaze us, many U.S. coffee shops seemed to share a similar aesthetic.

What was up with all the exposed brick? Why did so many of the baristas look cooler than us, but also so similar to one another? And why did most menus appear on a chalkboard, as if we were still in kindergarten?

....(snip)....

Baristas led the pack: Two-thirds of the participants’ favorite local coffee shops had staff with tattoos or piercings. Over half had baristas with beards. Well over half of the respondents noted that their favorite shop had chalkboards, reclaimed wood features, local art, milk foam designs on beverages, local event posters and exposed brick. A large share of the shops had vintage furniture, community message boards and free books available to patrons to read. One-third of the images had indoor plants, trees or greenery. ..................(more)

https://theconversation.com/indie-coffee-shops-are-meant-to-counter-corporate-behemoths-like-starbucks-so-why-do-they-all-look-the-same-275746

[tanyev]

1. Because nobody wants to hang out in a coffee shop that looks like an industrial kitchen or an expensive restaurant?

[ret5hd]

2. i'm a black coffee kinda guy...

can you guess what i want at a coffee shop?

a cup of rich dark coffee

that doesn’t take 30 minutes to get

that didn’t require me to remember what veni vidi vici latte mocha means

will fill my thermos at a reasonable price if i need that…hey, i tip well

so i make mine at home usually

[DBoon]

3. because the coffee shops that looked like a garage sale exploded vanished in the 1980s

The deliberate hipster look won out

[usonian]

4. Shut up and drink yr coffee!

Sounds like they copied the Berkeley off-campus esthetic I enjoyed over 30 years ago.

So, there's a funk index now?

Who else remembers "All you hippies look alike"???

Beats the regimented servers and customers of the big chains.

[FakeNoose]

5. I don't think this group did their survey in Pittsburgh

Pittsburghers who buy coffee on-the-go are more likely to frequent Dunkin' Donuts or Sheetz. We have a few Starbucks-type places but I don't know how busy they are.

Most of us commute to work by car, so there aren't that many walk-in customers. I'm retired now, but when I worked I brought my own coffee from home and drank it on the way to the office.

This is probably typical for most Americans outside of New York City.