Unpopular opinion: Nob Hill needs fewer trendy coffee shops, not more

Everyone claps when a new pour-over spot opens on Central, but last week I counted 9 coffee shops between Carlisle and Washington and only 2 places where you can still buy a real breakfast burrito. The barista at the new spot told me rent there is $3,400 a month, which is why a plain latte costs $7.50. Am I the only one who misses when that strip had an actual hardware store?

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jakel361mo ago

Counting coffee shops between Carlisle and Washington at 9 feels a bit off unless you're stretching the boundaries pretty far. I walk that stretch almost daily and I can name maybe 6 actual coffee spots, plus a couple of places that just sell coffee on the side, like the bakery and that sandwich place near the park. The rent thing is real though, no argument there, and $7.50 for a latte is nuts. But the hardware store didn't close because of coffee shops, it closed years before the first pour-over place showed up, back when the whole strip was pretty much dead. Blaming the baristas for a problem that started way earlier misses what actually happened.

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