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Phoenix666 writes:

'We don't want to be an office:' Café owners are pulling the plug on WiFi

When HotBlack Coffee opened in downtown Toronto a year ago, it took a risk few businesses would dare take in today's online-driven world: it turned off the WiFi.

"Every day people come in and ask for it," says Jimson Bienenstock, the café's co-owner.

Still, he hasn't wavered.

"In the short term, it hurt us," Mr. Bienenstock says. "It took us longer to become established, but once we reached critical mass, it has become a self-fulfilling virtuous circle."

While most cafés offer free WiFi, including large chains such as Starbucks, McDonald's and Tim Hortons, HotBlack is among a small but growing number of independent coffee shops choosing to ditch or limit Internet use. By not offering WiFi, they're hoping to create more of a community atmosphere where people talk to each other instead of silently typing on their computers.

If coffeeshops come to discourage people working, perhaps that activity can shift to libraries.

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