For holdouts like Tooker, the glut of Wi-Fi has made it tougher to keep people from zoning out on laptops.
Across the street from Four Barrel is a new housing project. Coffee drinkers can access its Wi-Fi if they sit at a counter that stretches along the front window of the shop. And, more and more, cafe nomads bring their own portable hot spots — devices that connect laptops to the Internet from anywhere — so they can plug in whether or not a cafe offers Wi-Fi.
Tooker shrugs his shoulders. On a busy weekday afternoon, his shop is packed with customers, only two of whom are gazing at laptops. His decision to ban Wi-Fi hasn't undercut business: Four Barrel goes through an average of 700 pounds of coffee each week.
"We don't glare at someone with a laptop," he said. "But we don't cater to that person either."
