Last month I counted 11 cafe logos on one block in Echo Park

I was walking to pick up a pastry order on Sunset and just started counting signs out of boredom. Eleven separate coffee shops in about 400 feet, and three of them opened within the last six months. The weird part is none of them seem busy during the week, but weekends are packed with people taking photos. How does anyone break even on rent around here when the crowd just cycles between spots? I've been running my place for 5 years and I still can't figure out the math on these new ones. Are we all just betting on the same foot traffic or is there something I'm missing?

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alice_palmer2023d ago

Three of those new spots are basically the size of my walk-in closet, and I've got a leaky espresso machine older than their entire business model. I watched one of them do a "latte art pour" class on a Tuesday and honestly thought it was a funeral for the first five minutes. My landlord raised my rent 8% this year and I had to sell my vintage bike just to cover the deposit on my milk order. Meanwhile these places are handing out free samples to Instagram bots and calling it marketing. I'm starting to think the real product is the photo of the drink, not the drink itself.