Hey Michael Bauer, laptops are OK at The Grove in San Francisco!

This is The Grove in The Marina in 2007!

One of the top-listed posts at SFGate.com is by San Francisco Chronicle Food and Restaurant Critic Michael Bauer, who rightly asks why laptop and cell phone use in restaurants make patrons angry.

Before weighing in on that, this blogger's compelled to point out that the photo used in his post was taken in 2007 at at The Grove on Chestnut Street and Avila Avenue in San Francisco's Marina District.

The Grove is specifically designed for laptop users. I discovered The Grove for myself in that same year of 2007, while attending a screenwriting class in Fort Mason, nearby. The attraction was that the vast majority of patrons were using their laptops for work.

That habit continues today, even as the Grove's recent remodel makes it less favorable to use as a office away from home. That was an awful move, the design change. There are fewer seats for internet work, and more for just lounging. Or it seems this is the case; more seats for Internet work were needed.

While The Grove's owners took steps to charge for use of the wireless service on a time-basis, what they should have done is tied the volume of wireless use to the price of the food order itself: the more food or drinks orders, the longer the wifi time permitted.

What The Grove's owners miss taking advantage of is the culture of people who's occupations depend on Internet use, yet used The Grove as a way of meeting each other. A conversation with a neighbor could lead to use of a new web service or a business partnership.

One example of this is an encounter I had at Oakland's Gaylord's Cafe, which is heavily populated by laptop workers. It turns out one of the patrons knew fellow YouTube Partner Renetto! Here's the video:



I'm personally not familiar with what Bauer's blogging about because I don't use my laptop in places that aren't designed for wifi access and computer use. Moreover, I don't see a lot of people using laptops and cell phones in restaurants where the atmosphere doesn't invite it.

Finally, I have to add that while the San Francisco Bay Area is known for harboring some of the World's most creative people in the World, the East Coast transplants to the Bay Area come from a region known for its high concentration of neurotic people, according to The Boston Globe.

Check the person who's complaining; it's a good chance they're from back East.

Cybercafes.com for Internet Cafes

If you're trying to find a place to work online away from home, check out Cybercafes.com, and avoid the neurotics!