Digital nomads sitting for hours in their favorite café or restaurant, order their drink and work loosely remotely, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere? Very idyllic, to always be true. More and more coffee owners or owners do not want to see laptops in their shop, if anything for financial reasons.

As Katrin says, owner of the Thies Café in Magdeburg, “it is very common to come with their computer to work here, order a water or espresso and sit for three hours. So I can’t live, nor pay the rent and staff. Quite simply, it’s not financially in us. “

‘Time for friends or children’

Some reach the point of banning the use of laptops on the tables, at least for specific days. “We have chosen the weekend,” says Katrin. “We tell our customers in those days: Find more time to discuss, find time for your friends or children …”.

Ilia Basillasvili, owner of the Café Il Ostan in Berlin, is also opposed to the use of a laptop, not so much for economic reasons, but mainly because without the distance workers there is a more enjoyable atmosphere. As he argues, “As soon as you enter, you understand the difference. There is life, the patrons speak more of each other. ” Of course, says Basillasville, “we will make an exception if one wants to check something on his computer for five minutes, but if he is going to work on the computer for hours, we no longer allow it.”

Vicenzo Bonzato from the Italian coffee of 8tto Grammi in Bairit, southern Germany, expresses a similar view. “We want customers to find time to enjoy their coffee or their orphal in a relaxed atmosphere,” he says. He even thinks customers want the same, otherwise it is difficult to chat with each other or say a few words with the waiter.

The ‘temptation’ of the ipad

Another sensitive issue, Katrin points out, is the parents who “leave” their children in front of an iPad until they enjoy their coffee. In this case, he says, the store’s policy is to offer young children toys or paintings. “They adore this, they come to ask us again,” he says. “I want this atmosphere, not to see the child forgotten in front of the laptop or the iPad until his mom says with her girlfriends …”.

The reactions to the laptop ban are mixed. On the one hand there are customers who want to relax, who are looking for a slower pace and welcome the ban. “But the truth is that we have lost some customers too,” admits Katrin.

At the same wavelength, Vicenzo Bonzato says that “there are some who are looking at us, but at the bottom, anyone who is annoyed can go elsewhere.” Some are avenged with negative ratings on social media, but nevertheless, “the store is always full,” says the Italian gastronomist.

The coffee made… Co-Working-Space

Theoretically, of course, there is another solution: some coffee owners make special offers for laptop customers or give them a separate room. For example, Café Doppio in Constantia forbids laptops in the central area, but, as owner Nicolas Furtvengler says, “those who come for jobs are referring to the back hall.”

This space has become co-working-space, which costs five euros per hour for each table, with free mineral water and a discount on soft drinks. Anyone sitting there can bring his tea or cookies from home, waiters do not come for orders. The space is particularly popular with law students, sitting at the tables with their computer and characteristic massive codes to read.

Some coffee owners would like to go a step further and even ban mobile use. “I would like to establish a ‘day without mobile’, but that doesn’t seem realistic to me,” says Katrin. “We see more and more intensely that man cannot live without a mobile …”.

Curated by: Yiannis Papadimitriou