The North East has a reputation for being a friendly place, and its local coffee shops are no exception. “One of my favourite things about working here is watching people get to know each other,” says Theo Brophy-Clews, store manager at Regular Jo’s Coffee Shop in Tynemouth. When Theo moved to the area, he sought out a job where he would find community, and he has certainly found it. Not only does Regular Jo’s serve one of the finest espressos this side of the Tyne, it’s also a gathering point for the local community.
With more people living far away from family and friends, or lacking a traditional community structure, can our local coffee shops offer us more than just a caffeine fix?
Dr Jennifer Ferreira, visiting research fellow at the University of Coventry, believes coffee shops are not just places of consumption. “Lots of people have to move cities for their jobs, and the coffee shop might feel like one of the few places where they have some sort of familiar connection,” says Jennifer. She would go as far as to say that even a quick visit to grab a takeaway has benefits. “For some people, just having that connection with the place they get their coffee every day is what they need, while other people want more involvement with their community.”
Theo says sometimes it’s tangible, like pointing people in the direction of the yoga studio upstairs. “A lot of the time it’s more subtle things around that sense of belonging; fleeting moments where you end up with six strangers in the shop who are suddenly talking,” he says.
Being by the sea, Theo says Regular Jo’s customers often bond over their shared love of surfing, sea swimming, and walking their dogs at the beach. There’s also a school next door, which means there’s a steady stream of parents at around 9am and 3pm.
A former social prescriber at a GP practice, Theo has a masters degree in psychology and he has seen first-hand how much loneliness can affect people’s overall health. One in four adults in the UK feels lonely at least some of the time, with the highest levels reported by 16-29-year-olds according to the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Human beings are social animals; we need real human interaction to facilitate happiness. In a study of 50 coffee shops across five UK cities, Jennifer and her colleagues found that many coffee shops had initiated community through reading and study groups, photography meetups, coffee-tasting workshops, and local artist exhibitions. Since the 18th Century, coffee houses have been places to meet and connect. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg recognised them as ”third places” – spaces away from work and home to relax and socialise, much like pubs and churches.
In recent years, the boundaries between work and home have become increasingly blurred. Many people who work from home choose to cosy up in a coffee shop, as much for the casual social interaction as for the latte art.
For Jennifer, there is a difference between a small, artisan coffee shop in a coastal town like Regular Jo’s and the bigger chain shops operated by the likes of Starbucks and Costa. “Independent places are much more likely to have that kind of feel,” she says. “It depends a lot on the staff, how much they actively want to be involved with their customers.” That active role with customers is clearly evident at Regular Jo’s – with one of the regular customers set to officiate Theo’s wedding this autumn.
So, whether you’re a tired parent grabbing a caffeine fix after the school run, or a home-worker heading out for a breath of fresh air, don’t skip the coffee run. Look up from your phone screen, perhaps even strike up a conversation with your barista or the customer in front of you – who knows, it might be the start of something good.
