The last time I entered a chain coffee shop I wanted to leave before I sat down. I had some time to kill and needed to stay somewhere dry, at the time it felt like a more appealing option than sitting in my car in a multi storey car park. I looked around it immediately hit me tired and neglected it looked. I remember back in the early noughties when a Starbucks was considered cool, so many celebrities were paparazzi holding the distinctive cup and going in to me felt like a treat.
This is where I feel the problems are- these chains haven't moved on at all since the early noughties, where as their customer has. Take the average interior of a coffee chain, uniform decoration, combination of wooden floor and carpets, typed pricing in the panel above the till, wall art which typically includes a photo of coffee beans tumbling out of a sack or an old Italian car, blown up on a canvas. Then there is the seating; they usually have a stab at trying to do the "Friends' Central Perk style interior with a couple of low tables and the odd arm chair, crammed in amongst as many less comfortable tables and chairs as possible. These chairs are old and don't look well looked after. When inside these coffee shops, you have the odd sensation that it would be anytime of day, any time of year and you could be in any city in the UK or further afield. The temperature, lighting, lack of windows puts you in isolation is this the aim?
What is next for these coffee chains? They have already spread and multiplied in every city. But as previously stated they haven't moved on in terms of menu offering, style or aesthetic. The eatery interior trend currently seems to be in the style of a modern New York deli. Modern, light, and airy. Have you seen the Butchers Daughter in an American Juice Bar and Cafe it is 'very 2017'. There is a industrial, rustic vibe interior vibe complete with lots of greenery. The Butchers Daughter interior is in complete contrast to the standard coffee chain. In the UK there is plenty of foodie outlet inspiration; from street foods at Camden market, there are some gorgeous eateries such as Ottolengi and Albion to name but a few. Also I am pleased to see arty, over the top black boards, - there are some great ones in Borough Market, this feels far more personal than the uniform printed price lists in the coffee chains. For a few years there has been a lot of 'support your independent shops', I have always thought of independents as been more innovative and quicker at moving with the times, this continues to be the case as smaller chains and independent eateries embrace new food trends and have more personal creative interiors.
