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Long ago — say, 15 years back — our “third place” choices were pretty slim. There was the library, where you couldn’t talk. The diner, where you had to tip. Bars required drinking and gyms, workouts — both exhausting. Of course there was always the town square, where young lovers promenaded while old men fed pigeons. But those were all in Italy. America just didn’t have a gathering spot, except for the mall. Gag me with an Aunt Annie’s pretzel.

Then along came Starbucks, and suddenly we had the kind of public life we hadn’t seen since the death of the ol’ general store. People lingered, mingled. They lingled.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/article.aspx?ID=6987

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In its latest cost-cutting moves designed to improve its bottom line, Starbucks announced today that it would no longer offer coffee, cups, or stir-thingies beginning February 1.

In an official statement, company spokesman Carol Foyler said that Starbucks “wrestled long and hard” with the decision to eliminate the three items, “especially coffee.”

Ah! Os caras continuam lá…

Abraços.

Lembremos que, junto com o café coado, chegará ao fim (para o bem e para o mal) o também tipicamente brasileiro “café bar”, modalidade infecta de botecos que, de tão ruins, chegam a ser bons.

Há uma tamanha tendência de pasteurização e estilização que faz surgir em São Paulo não sei quantos botecos que pretendem imitar botecos cariocas. Já no Rio, começam a surgir botecos que imitam botecos paulistas que imitam botecos cariocas.