Photograph by Claire Dresser
Big business disenfranchising small local shops and stores is by no means an uncommon occurrence. Take Starbucks, for example, which has 24,464 locations and counting. Its name recognition and dependability have been attracting customers for decades. However, the worldwide Starbucks epidemic has severely damaged the success of the local coffee shop.
Fortunately, Berkeley maintains its affinity for local business. Accordingly, downtown Berkeley has a delightfully high concentration of cafes. Small cafes and coffee shops have become not only a marker of Berkeley’s small business sensibilities, but also a cornerstone of Berkeley High School culture. K’s Internet Cafe (K’s) is a perfect example of how well Berkeley High sustains small business.
A huge part of the K’s demographic is Berkeley High students. Aidan Gabriel, a senior at Berkeley High, said,“I would rather support a small business than a larger business because of what those funds go towards. I want to help people on an individual level.”
This theme seems to carry throughout the hive mind of Berkeley High. There’s something to be said about the mindset that Berkeley High inspires considering students cited K’s small business status as a big part of the reason they preferred it over other cafes. This is a trend in Berkeley, and many small businesses get the opportunity to succeed because Berkeley High students are patrons there.
The Berkeley High populus seems to agree that chain cafes like Starbucks pale in comparison to the personal and very delicious K’s. Senior Nat Kolligs went as far as to say, “Starbucks has left a bad impression on this earth.”
While it may seem drastic, this is hardly an unpopular opinion on campus, with students generally believing that supporting small business is essential.
“[Supporting small cafes] is really important because chains are evil,” said senior Amy Lewites. This resistance to give in to big corporations may be instilled in Berkeley kids from birth because of the liberal qualities of the Bay Area, or, perhaps the culture of Berkeley High itself has inspired an affinity towards smaller businesses.
However, students are not driven purely by the goodness of their hearts, but also by their stomachs. Maude Mervin, a freshman at Berkeley High says that she frequents K’s because “The food is delicious!”
Gabriel agreed that the “quite prime” bagels were a prominent part of the reason he enjoys K’s. Lewites said that bagels from chain coffee shops were “not quality,” which is another big reason why students support small businesses. Rather than a deeper sociopolitical drive, it’s just a matter of taste.
Moreover, the atmosphere of K’s plays a big role in its popularity. Students had a tendency to go on and on when asked about the atmosphere.
K’s was described as a positive place to be in almost every possible sense. Sophomore Clara Raedeker said that “[The cafe] smells like yummy baked foods.”
Gabriel also had an affinity towards the ambiance of the cafe. When asked about the environment of K’s, Gabriel pointed out that, “It’s well-lit [and] the vibe’s really nice.”
Part of the appeal of K’s was the crowd of Berkeley High students itself. It is easy to grow accustomed to the hustle and bustle of Berkeley High throughout the school day, and K’s has a similar feeling with the added quality that people are actually happy to be there.
Perhaps what students enjoyed most was the service at K’s. “The hands-on way they go about their business is really refreshing, compared to one of those chain restaurants,” Gabriel noted.
Moreover, there’s an unspoken sense of community between the K’s employees and Berkeley High students. Kolligs spoke on the community aspect, saying, “ I don’t think they know my name, and I don’t know their names, but they recognize me.” The feeling of community is almost exclusively attainable in small businesses, never chains.
While there are certain aspects of K’s that are unique, it’s truly representative of small business throughout Berkeley. They succeed in the face of big corporations while also maintaining a sense of community.