That reminds me of Apple stores and their free to use computers.

Great point!

Wow! that is a great thought. I would have never thought that.

On the other side, starbucks don't need that type of advertising now and a small\upcoming shop can't afford that kind of advertising.

This idea is also business specific. Can restaurants afford whole day sitting customers? No, I think

Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, has openly admitted to wanting customers who stay and work in the store cause of this.

"You walk into a retail store, whatever it is, and if there's a sense of entertainment and excitement and electricity, you wanna be there."

“We’re not in the coffee business — we’re in the experience business”

I've had chats with the manager of one of my favourite locations. It gets pretty slow mid-afternoon, and she made it really clear that she's super happy having some people sitting in there working, even if they're sipping the dregs from a 2-hour-old free-refill coffee. The regulars usually have chatted at least a little bit (maybe that's a Canadian thing), and having conversations or work going on improves the atmosphere.

What would be the first thing that runs through your mind if you walked into an empty starbucks? "Are you open?"

If there are employees inside that means they are open then I would order and grab my coffee

Sure, but the feeling is different...

The trick with restaurants is to sit customers near the window so it looks like they are more busy than they are. Ever wondered why in a huge mostly empty restaurant you're placed next to existing customers.

Maybe because it's nice sitting next to a window?