You’re making a quick stop for a hot cup of something to pry open your eyes before you go to work. Increasingly, it seems everybody else in the coffeehouse is already at work.
Wi-Fi access and cell phones have released office workers from the tyranny of their cubicles. Since you can work from practically anywhere, a place that dispenses endless caffeine and maybe a bear claw or two seems a logical place to settle down. Sure enough, on some mornings it looks like the ones punching the clock outnumber normal customers by a hefty margin.
We took a tour of central Arkansas’ coffee shops and bakeries to find out how they accommodate — or thwart — the wireless worker. We examined them not as restaurants (although certainly tasty treats are a bonus ) but as office space.
PANERA BREAD 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. (501 ) 227-0222. Hours: 6 a. m.-9 p. m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a. m.-7 p. m. Sunday. Free refills ? Yes. They only have a couple of coffee flavors but they more than suffice. Free Wi-Fi ? Yes. You have to glance through some Panera advertising to get going, but it’s not a bother. Office space: The light art deco trappings of Panera give it a clean and bright look. But the fact that there is space to work might endear it more to those getting down to business. Panera has been crowded since it opened but it still hasn’t been hard to find a free table. Plugs ? A fairly generous supply although there are a number of tables that aren’t within reach of even an extra-long cord. Comments: It didn’t take long for the workers to find this chain sandwich / coffee shop in Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center. It will likely be a favorite for laptoppers for one reason in particular — the number of snug two-person booths that offer privacy and comfort (not to mention your own electrical outlet ). When we first stopped by Panera, the behind-the-counter help was forced to do some crazy corporate cheerleading every time somebody ordered a muffin or whatever. That has since ceased. Thank goodness.
BOULEVARD BREAD COMPANY River Market, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. (501 ) 374-1232. Hours: 7 a. m.-3: 30 p. m. daily. Free refills ? Yes. Boulevard’s coffee is no weak sister — strong and spicy is the rule here. Free Wi-Fi ? Yes. Office space: If you’re armed with project reports and need elbow room, Boulevard’s River Market location has a table for you — an enormous rectangular object that could have been rescued from a boardroom or a castle. The orange chairs aren’t padded (which will make a difference if you want to stay awhile ). The other gleaming wood tables are plenty big enough. Plugs ? There is one for every table near the wall — although that’s only four. Comments: Boulevard’s pastries are akin to sacred objects in our eyes, but for some reason we’ve never found this the most comfortable location to get stuff done. Is it the distracting high ceilings ? Is it the distracting great music (and the music is so great that you often will stop what you’re doing trying to figure out what the name is of this tune that you love )? Is it the hard chairs ? We can never quite figure it out, but the fact we keep returning only shows how much we want it to work. COMMUNITY BAKERY CAFE
1200 Main St., Little Rock. (501 ) 375-7105.
Hours: 6 a. m-8 p. m. Monday-Thursday, 6 a. m.-10 p. m. Friday-Saturday, 7 a. m.-8 p. m. Sunday.
Free refills ? Yes, with usually six flavors on tap, the best being the smooth Grand Hotel.
Free Wi-Fi ? Yes.
Office space: Community Bakery’s downtown location opened long before the Wi-Fi craze took hold, but the space, which is fairly large compared to the other coffee shops in town, has adapted. The tables aren’t the most comfortable (and some are uneven and wobbly ), but they do the trick.
Plugs ? Should you need an electrical outlet during the busy morning rush, you might have to wait until one of the tables along a wall opens up. But our experience is that it is a rare occurrence.
Comments: There is hardly a morning that goes by without a minister working on a sermon or a lawyer meeting with a client at one of the tables. Community Bakery is the opposite of sleek and efficient — it’s boisterous and occasionally malfunctioning, but it feels comfortable, clubby and inviting once you settle in. Maybe that’s why regulars keep coming back and beavering away on whatever project they have at hand.
STARBUCKS 12901 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. (501 ) 954-7596. Hours: 5 a. m.-10 p. m. Monday-Thursday, 5 a. m.-11 p. m. Friday-Saturday, 6 a. m.-11 p. m. Sunday. Free refills ? Nope. Free Wi-Fi ? Starbucks used to be tied to T-Mobile and customers had to sign up to T-Mobile to get access. Now the coffee king has an agreement with AT&T that’s supposed to allow for free access for two hours. Whatever. It’s too much of a headache to figure out, especially when you can walk into any other coffee shop, click on your Internet browser and away you go.
Office space: There are tons of Starbucks to choose from but we stuck with one that’s closest to our home, which has a typical tight layout with a few small tables (and Starbucks has probably the smallest tables of anybody ) and a couple of comfy lounge chairs. The thing that is most notable about this kind of Starbucks is there is no place to spread out.
Plugs: There seems to be a plug wherever you need one.
Comments: We have no natural antipathy toward Starbucks — it’s not by accident that the chain, which until fairly recently ignored Little Rock, has spread like kudzu. But no free refills, the slightly claustrophobic atmosphere and the hoops you have to jump through to get to the Internet make it a bottom-rung choice — at best — for somebody who wants to get some work done. SAN FRANCISCO BREAD CO.
101 S. Bowman, Little Rock. (501 ) 537-0200.
Hours: 7 a. m.-9 p. m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a. m.-9 p. m. Sunday
Free refills ? Yes with several flavors, including a tasty pecan.
Free Wi-Fi ? Yes, and, if you happen to be caught without a computer, there are two here that you can use for free.
Office space: This chain restaurant appears to have been designed for worker bees. There is a lounge area with big leather chairs in front of a large-screen TV broadcasting CNN. Maybe you want to set up shop there. You could also park at one of the regular tables that’s near an outlet. Or you can station yourself at one of the tall tables in the back (in a quiet part of the space, farthest away from the TV ).
Plugs: Lots of them in the locations where you need them to be.
Comments: Stop by this west Little Rock restaurant on any given afternoon during a work day and you will swear you have walked into a company in the middle of a frenzied transaction. There are folks spread out everywhere, gazing intently at their screens. The tall tables have groups of people working together. The atmosphere is lively, yet relaxed and comfortable. This is hardly our favorite bakery / sandwich shop, but it might be the prize winner in the ad hoc workplace sweepstakes.
COFFEE BEANERY CAFE 17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. (501 ) 821-7747. Hours: 6: 30 a. m.-8 p. m. Monday-Thursday, 7: 30 a. m.-6 p. m. Friday-Sunday. Free refills ? Yes, but you have to go up to the counter to ask for them. Maybe you’ll be lucky on the day you go and they’ll be serving the delicious Hawaii Coconut. Free Wi-Fi ? Yes. Office space: There’s plenty of room in this west Little Rock coffeehouse and you can work in a booth, regular table or comfy leather lounge chair. But if you need electricity to operate, there are problems. Plugs: There are only two outlets in this cafe and it always seems that somebody is using at least one. Oh, and you might not even notice one of the two, which is just an extension cord from the kitchen that you can use if you sit at the table in the back. Comments: It’s surprising the number of people who use the Beanery Cafe as a workplace. But the coffee is great and, this far out on Chenal, there aren’t a lot of other options. Still, it’s a comfortable environment and, if you need an outlet and there’s one available, you’re good to go.
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