Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the Great Good Places at the Heart of Our Communities

we have also sought to engage our customers in experiences they could share with other people.

Pike Street in Seattle, or Granville Island in Canada,

Once people come into Annie’s, they quickly find that they are our first priority. We want to know our customers. We lean across the counter and ask about vacations and school activities, illness and recoveries, births and deaths.

Through the chess set, free entertainment, a magazine stand, and a variety of community events, we make a conscious effort to send out the message to our customers that they are welcome.

The best third places are locally owned, independent, small-scale, steady-state business,

When you walk through the door, you are likely to see one of the groups that use the facility. Reading discussion groups, writing groups, children’s story hour groups, Toastmasters, and others regularly meet in the hundred-seat Horizon Shine Café at no charge.

we invited the police to open a substation on the property.

a poem is a personal, individual experience.

We are unpretentious and warm, playful and upbeat. We know our customers and care about them.