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When I was younger, I longed for coffee shops. They were culturally ascendant in the 鈥�90s, as places of leisure and spontaneity. Plus, I wouldn鈥檛 have to be 21 to enjoy them, unlike bars.

I was sure that a coffee shop in my hometown would change my life. I would have more friends, more zines to read, more bands to listen to, and other cool things to get into. The coffee itself was a secondary, even tertiary, aspect of this desire. A coffee shop represented the possibility of being cool and the potential to be part of a community, separate from school pressures and family obligations.

To grow up wanting to be a writer, like I did, often meant having a romantic idea of caf茅 and bar culture. I imagined my adult life taking place in or could be found late into the night. Whenever I鈥檝e traveled, watering holes have been the site of my fantasies: Would this be my coffee shop if I moved to Buenos Aires? Will I run into Pedro Almod贸var at this Madrid sherry bar?

As I grew older and made homes in towns and cities that have thriving caf茅 and bar cultures, their significance to my social life only grew. Spaces to relax, make connections, and have spontaneous interactions are key to survival. They are , and since the last economic recession, their . These days, I live in Old San Juan, a picturesque Spanish colonial district in Puerto Rico. There鈥檚 no shortage of caf茅s near me, and there鈥檚 a bar on nearly every one of its . When I walk into any of them, I expect to see a friendly face. 

It might be the bartender who knows my Friday afternoon drink by heart, or a neighbor to whom I wave every day, though I don鈥檛 yet know their name. Will this be the day we get to know each other? It鈥檚 always possible. I鈥檒l hear the local news there, like who bought which building or who鈥檚 in the hospital; my dog will be given treats and water, whether he鈥檚 offered up his paw or not. The hospitality feels natural, so long as it鈥檚 early enough in the day that the tourists and partiers haven鈥檛 gotten the run of the show. That鈥檚 when it鈥檚 time to head home, or to the wine bar, where the atmosphere is a bit more mellow. Sitting on a stool makes me feel like I鈥檓 part of the neighborhood, like I鈥檓 safe even if I鈥檓 not deeply known. A bar without a friendly face is just a place of transaction, but it always has the potential to be something more: a place for recognition and relaxation, spontaneity and possible connection. That鈥檚 what makes a bar special; that鈥檚 what keeps you coming back.

Today, in Old San Juan鈥攁n Old San Juan much changed since its own bohemian heyday鈥擨鈥檓 the flaneur of my childhood dreams: walking, waving, popping in for a drink, getting on my way鈥� Mornings at the caf茅 are spent in a neighbor鈥檚 company; afternoons and evenings bring the friendly faces of local bars. This is the culture of camaraderie I鈥檇 long sought, one that feeds me as a person and a writer. 

Having grown up in the suburbs of Long Island and spent much of my younger years in an increasingly and , I know that this culture has to be cultivated and protected. At a time when communities need them the most, watering holes are threatened by everything from pandemics to high housing costs causing displacement. People tend to meet around beverages鈥攃offee in the afternoon, beer during happy hour鈥攖o release tensions, discuss their lives, and solve problems.

Both Historic and Futuristic

What is it about a cup rather than a plate that allows for such a comfortable place to conspire? The natural time limit imposed by the end of the glass or bottle inspires urgency, but it鈥檚 also easy to have another if the conversation hasn鈥檛 finished. We relax over beverages while on vacation, when we need a place to rest our weary feet and replenish, perhaps asking the bartender for a recommendation for our next meal. A place that is casual, quenches thirst, and meets social needs: This is the watering hole.

In the popular imagination, 鈥渨atering hole鈥� is another name for a bar, yet it has a specific definition as ; it鈥檚 a geological formation, a sunken piece of land that becomes filled with water to sustain the life around it. , and we are sustained by community. That we鈥檝e used this term informally to mean a tavern or bar鈥攕omewhere to drink alcohol鈥攕uggests that these spaces do more for us than act as places to go grab a beer during happy hour. 

These are what philosopher J眉rgen Habermas called the 鈥�,鈥� or places of social life where 鈥渟omething approaching public opinion can be formed鈥� and access is open to all. Under these circumstances, Habermas said, people act neither as business folk or professionals, nor as a voting body, but as something less constricted. The public sphere is akin to what sociologist Ray Oldenburg called a 鈥渢hird place鈥� in his 1989 book, The Great Good Place鈥攕omewhere that isn鈥檛 work or home but is accessible to and necessary for a healthy society.

British pubs have historically been places of political meaning. Dr. Vicki Hsueh, a professor of political science, wrote in the 2016 study 鈥溾�� that 鈥渞einserting emotion and intoxication into the emergence of the public sphere helps to flesh out the history of feeling and social ritual in civic engagement.鈥� Coffee shops serve a similar purpose: Researcher Narciss M. Sohrabi, in a 2015 case study based in Tehran, Iran, , 鈥淲hile these coffee shops do not provide sites where the public tends to organize and form political opinions, young people nevertheless use them for 鈥榚veryday forms of resistance鈥欌�濃�攑laces to mix, mingle, and discuss culturally taboo subjects.

Over time, as , and they are gaining steam in significance throughout the U.S.: I鈥檝e picked up weekly fruit and vegetable boxes for community-supported agriculture at bars, where I鈥檝e then sat at a stool for a pint. Since 2009, Chicago bar the Hideout has hosted an event called 鈥溾�� where pots of soup and loaves of bread can be enjoyed for free or with an optional donation. Playground Coffee in Brooklyn, New York鈥檚 Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood offers , as well as events around literacy and food equity; and were of great use during the COVID-19 pandemic. While in much U.S. media, they are now reopening in and and offering thoughtful .

Broadening the understanding of the watering hole to include all kinds of thirst-quenching drinks is a significant aspect of bridging gaps in which watering holes can serve as public spaces. Beers, spirits, and wines have their place, but there鈥檚 more awareness in this day and age of 鈥攁苍诲 are bearing out similar data, with hundreds of millions in sales in the U.S. in recent years, and in the category of nonalcoholic spirits and wine. Coffee and tea have their significant cultural spaces, yet later into the evening, options have been lacking for those who prefer not to drink alcohol. Now, are a trend, and high-end cocktail bars and restaurants put mocktails or alcohol-free wines and beers on the menu.

These bars鈥攁苍诲 the 鈥攐ffer a chance to help redefine watering holes as inclusive spaces for everyday engagement. They鈥檙e already performing that duty. How can they do it better, for more people, amid crises such as a global pandemics? How can cities be built in ways that help these spaces flourish as both businesses and neighborhood hubs?

Public Sphere for Public Health

Walkable, bikeable, and more accessible infrastructure certainly aids in creating this kind of thriving community culture with watering holes as centerpieces. Cities over car traffic see their downtowns filled with more people more of the time, and this leads to the success of small businesses like caf茅s and bars. Adjusting zoning laws to allow for would mean that folks can live, work, shop, and socialize in the same area, without need for a car. This is rare to find in the U.S. outside of major urban areas, yet it is increasingly important; surveys have shown that around on a regular basis, which is considered a . Changes to infrastructure on a large scale that enable folks to have more daily, casual contact would go a long way toward combating loneliness.

A focus on the individual, car-centric transport, and have perhaps served only to make bars and caf茅s seem insignificant on a community scale in the United States鈥攂ut this is an anomaly globally speaking, and crises have served to undermine this uniquely American notion that watering-hole culture is frivolous. Replace 鈥渕eal鈥� with 鈥渄rink鈥� in Michael Symons鈥� 1994 piece on the sociology of the meal and we understand the significance of this urge: 鈥淧ersons who share no particular interests can find themselves sharing a meal鈥攊n this possibility together with the primitiveness and thus pervasiveness of the material interest lies the immense sociological significance of the meal.鈥� This significance cannot be undermined for long: It鈥檚 a human impulse to gather around the necessary acts of eating and drinking. They鈥檙e necessary to happiness, to thriving neighborhoods, and to survival during a crisis. 

In the 25 years since I longed to find my people in coffee shops, I鈥檝e had the chance to make community, become a regular, and imagine new lives for myself. It鈥檚 in the watering hole, the third place, where I鈥檝e been able to do these things鈥攖he din of a caf茅 or bar has been the background noise to so much of my writing, just as I envisioned it as a kid. And when the work is done, there鈥檚 always someone there to talk to. 

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Spicy Hibiscus Simple Syrup
Makes about 1 录 cups simple syrup

陆 cup dried hibiscus flowers
1 dried chili of choice
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup water

1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling with a rubber spatula, and bring to a boil.
2. Lower the heat at the boiling point and let simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Let simmer a few minutes more to bring out the hibiscus color, taking off the heat when a deep red has emerged.
3. Strain into an airtight container and let cool before covering or using, then store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Spicy Hibiscus Margarita
Makes 1 margarita

2 ounces tequila or mezcal
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice (save rind)
1 ounce spicy hibiscus syrup
Coarse salt for garnish (optional)
Dried hibiscus for garnish (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.
2. Rub the lemon rind around the rim of a rocks glass and dip the rim into the coarse salt. Fill the glass with ice.
3. Shake the tin until all ingredients have been well incorporated and the tin is icy cold.
4. Using a strainer, pour into the prepared rocks glass and garnish with dried hibiscus.

Nonalcoholic Hibiscus Spritz
Makes 1 spritz

1 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce spicy hibiscus simple syrup
Seltzer
Dried hibiscus for garnish (optional)

1. Place lemon juice and simple syrup in a wine glass and stir.
2. Fill the wine glass with ice, then top with seltzer to the rim.
3. Garnish with dried hibiscus.