[grncdr]

That varies greatly depending on where you are in the world. In most of southern europe "a coffee" is an espresso, and outside of urban and/or tourist centers the normal price is less than 1€.

The study was done in Verona, where I suspect that espresso consumption isn't highly correlated with economic status.

[ericmay]

I’m genuinely curious about the economics of the southern European coffee shop. The machines are quite expensive $20,000-$30,000+ (+- $5,000 - $10,000) and so for just 1€ plus they have to eat, potentially pay employees, etc. how viable are these shops?

On the other hand I think that the fact that such cafes exist and seem to work well speaks to walkability and proper transit as a cornerstone of entrepreneurship. In America you basically have to start a Starbucks drive through to get enough volume, or you have to charge $2.65 or something for a single because of a lack of volume.

Proper density (not Manhattan, moreso Amsterdam) and walkability seem to me to drive economic growth and encourage new businesses that don’t need to raise rounds of funding.