With Americans increasingly working longer hours there is a recommendation for a third place within an individuals second place (work setting). For the crew of CW46 that place is Sports Page Food & Spirits near Denver, NC. This quaint restaurant and pub serves a meeting place for coworkers to grab lunch on their break or enjoy a few cold beverages after work.
Sports Page Food & Spirits serves as a great third place because it is closely associated with Oldenburg’s characters of a third place let’s investigate further…
Oldenburg states that for a third place to be great it must closely adhere to the following characteristics…
1. Be an escape from home and work.
2. Be on neutral ground.
3. Promote conversation as the main activity.
4. Have regulars.
5. Keep a playful low profile.
6.Be a home away from home.
7. As a leveler.
(Oldenburg, 21-41).
Sports Page Food & Spirits does this for the sales force of CW46, for instance we use this place as an escape from work. Many times during a hard morning of work members of the sales team will e-mail one another and ask if anyone is interested in grabbing lunch. Typically when another party agrees to lunch they also agree to hear grievances about their day and act as a therapist of sorts. Typically, both parties find an agreeable work topic to discuss and they engage in conversation. If there are not work grievances to discuss, conversation still flows organically but it is typically small talk about family, sports, friends, etc.
Sports Page Food & Spirits is on neutral ground for CW46 employees to use as a third place. Meaning, the proximity of the restaurant to the office is ideal, a short 5 minute drive at worst. This establishment can be identified as a neutral space because it is not near any employee home space (first place), and no CW46 employee has a stake in the success or failure of the business.
As discussed earlier Sports Page Food & Spirits promotes conversation as the main activity. Outside of our circle of CW46 coworkers, engagement with other people in the restaurant is frequent and easy to engage in. Sports Page Food & Spirits is a local establishment and many times conversation can be started simply by discussing things going on around the community.
Sports Page Food & Spirits is an establishment built on local regulars. The tavern is designed like a typical neighborhood sports pub, there is nothing special to attract visitors to this establishment if they did not live near it. However this establishment recruits regulars by sponsoring local youth sports leagues and they promote food and beverage discounts for the team after games. This allows Sports Page Food & Spirits to establish a base of regular business and promotes new patrons with word of mouth to new parents and their children playing in youth sports.
This establishment has the distinctive playful low profile of an “Anywhere U.S.A.” tavern. The lighting is dim, popular music is playing on the juke box, multiple televisions are playing different sporting events, and there are opportunities to sit at a bar to engage in conversation with the bartender or sit at a table and engage in a private conversation.
Sports Page Food & Spirits is a home away from home for many of their patrons. Unlike the CW46 sales staff many of the regulars of this establishment live within a “stones throw” of this tavern. I have not engaged the conversation directly with regulars, however, I notice that the same people visit this tavern at the same time daily. Many of these regulars come in to get a quick drink and discuss their day with the bartender, and then leave. This shows that regulars of this tavern associate Sports Page Food & Spirits as their home away from home and use it as such.
Lastly, Sports Page Food & Spirits is a leveler meaning all walks of life frequent the establishment. When I visit this establishment for lunch the customer base is diverse, and this place promotes an all walks of life customer base. A typical observation of the tavern shows regulars sitting at the bar enjoying a beer and conversation with the bartender, and white collar and blue collar co-workers will be sitting at tables discussing issues at work.
With few dining options in this neighborhood, parents frequent this establishment as a place to take the family out to dinner, and they typically sit along side teenagers meeting here for a weekend lunch to socialize with their friends.
Sports Page Food & Spirits embodies Oldenburg’s characteristics of a great third place. This tavern promotes engagement within the community by placing a priority on serving the community. In return this priority promotes a base of local regular cliental who use this space as a way to communicate with neighbors.