Team Wendorf Report

Not that it really matters all that much in 2006 in Seattle, but Tully’s is now offering free wifi. Of course their free wifi is almost redundant at this point since pretty much anywhere in the city you go you can access someone’s open wifi, be it business or home network. But starbucks isn’t doing this (yet), so it does make Tully’s a more attractive option if you need to find someplace to work online. In fact chances are I will probably end up working at a Tully’s when I’m off site considering there are almost as many as there are starbucks, so if I can’t make it to Motore I will probably look for a Tully’s.

On the downside though, their wifi only ran at 11mbps, and it required me to sign an online agreement form before giving me access to the web. Minor, but kind of annoying, especially since I had to go through the agreement process again after losing connection for a minute.

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I worked out of Cupcake Royale this morning, a cafe on Market Street in the increasingly trendy downtown Ballard. Midday Ballard is an interesting mix of suburban looking hipsters (ie guys in women’s jeans), middle aged men in sweat pants, and smelly derelicts. Kind of reminds me of the old rendezvous when half their clientele was drunk Indians. My favorite comic artist Peter Bagge did a comic/story on the evolution of Ballard that is entertaining as well as insightful. But I digress…

Cupcake Royal offers free wifi, which is a big plus. They are close to Mars Hill, which is great if I need to be close to work. Their seating is rather unimaginative, basically just ikea-ish tables and chairs. I have enough flimsy at home and don’t really want to pay money to sit at a table that wobbles while I type. The staff was lackluster; competent but no indication that they were enjoying their jobs or being in the establishment. They just seemed like they were there to do a job, not because they had anything personal invested in making Cupcake Royale a better option than starbucks and, um Tully’s (both within 30 seconds of CR).

As their name implies, CR’s focus is on cupcakes (When did this trend start?) I would probably be more excited about being there if I was 10 years old, but I did not see anything to indicate that they are branding themselves as a place for kids. While I was there I saw a lot of people like myself, hard at work, and then a lot of kids, which seemed weird. And they sell underwear with their logo. Who thinks that’s funny?

So, bottom line, I could work at CR if I had to, but I would be more inclined to head over to Tully’s (and work off of CR’s open wifi). I would head to Motore as a first choice though.

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I have been working offsite at a downtown cafe’ called Motore. A great alternative to Starbucks, Starbucks and Starbucks. Free wifi, a bunch of german magazines (how did they know!), unique design and some connection to vespa scooters that I don’t fully understand but it doesn’t hurt their image. The owner hangs out regularly in the cafe and the staff are friendly without being cloying; they clearly are invested in making sure Motore maintains a certain authenticity. It’s the kind of experience that a chain like Starbucks, regardless of how hard they try to be ‘your local neighborhood cafe’ (and they do a good job for a how ubiquitous they are), will never achieve.

Of course the Starbucks down the street is packed, I hope these guys can keep this going

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