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Wireless on the grow in Mesquite cafes
Trendy wireless cafes are on the grow in Mesquite. Above, Nick Lamb dials up at the Panera Bread Company. He says he will visit at least once a week to get away from the office. / Jim Gibbs-Staff Photo
By JIM GIBBS Staff Writer
These days, it’s not just enough to have internet access at home or at work as many people are finding that its also good to have it away from the home or office as well.
The Panera Bread Company, located near Town East Mall in Mesquite, is just one of many “Internet Cafés” in the area where patrons can not only get a good meal, but can also surf the web on their personal laptops as well.
All it takes is a wireless network card and a laptop computer and you can log onto Panera’s Wi-Fi internet service for free.
There is no charge for the internet connection at the Panera Bread Company and other restaurants and coffee shops, such as Border’s Books and Starbucks, offer internet connection to their patrons for various fees.
While Baby Boomers like Lamb can often be seen perusing the net at Panera and other places, Generation X and Yers are also a part of the Wi-Fi equation.
“It’s amazing the different types of customers we get in here who use the Wi-Fi service,” said Wes Seymour, an 18-year-old shift supervisor at Panera. “A lot of high school students will come and and use their laptops and then their parents will be in the next day doing the same thing. So it’s really something for everyone.”
And it doesn’t hurt business.
“Of course, there are some people who come in here and use the internet service and not buy anything but, overall, that’s pretty rare,” Seymour said. “Most people who use the service are great customers that we see all the time like him (he points to Lamb) and these other people. We like for them to use the service. There’s plenty of room and people can stay here as long as they like.”
The service is also accessible outside the restaurant on the patio.
“We open up at 6:30 in the morning and sometimes we’ll have people sitting out on the patio with their laptops waiting to get in,” Seymour said. “The Wi-Fi service is accessible outside the store on the patio and many people just use it out there.”
Contact staff writer Jim Gibbs at 972-285-6301, ext. 105, or jim.gibbs@scntx.com.
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