Third Place at the Drive-Thru

Is the future of Starbucks sad and impersonal?

A couple of Saturday nights ago, my wife and I ordered sushi for takeout. We called our local Japanese restaurant at around 7:30, and they told us to call back in an hour. They were not currently taking orders because the kitchen was so busy.

So we tried a second nearby place, and were able to place an order. When we arrived to pick it up, they were comp…