[southpolesteve]

The place you linked in Philly is a few blocks from my house. I've been a handful of times. Much more of a restaurant. I think it is a good example of a place trying to do too many things. As a coffee shop it is pretty sub par. It does not have a good vibe during the day. There are much better proper coffee shops within a few block radius.

Of course I am just one anecdote. They could be doing amazing.

[crispyambulance]

Yes, you're right that it isn't a "coffee house". The coffee house game is played expertly in philly by several places each of which serves up excellent coffee: Joe, Elixr, La Colombe, Rival, and a few more. Depending on the time of day, they're decidedly not the kind of independent coffee-house vibe the author was going for. La Colombe, for example, is branching out beyond just having a few coffee houses in a few cities-- they're marketing product as well.