Local Coffee Shops in Philadelphia

This bread chain slash coffee shop popped up out of nowhere about two years ago in my town. Then I walked past and saw that they had free WiFi-it was like seeing a beacon of light. Ever since, Panera has been my first choice to go get a coffee and get some work done. Their coffee prices are reasonable (about $1.70 a cup) but the food is a little high in price. Expect to pay about $9 for a sandwich, side and drink, but it's good healthy stuff. The shop has a nice, bustling atmosphere that any average American family would love. It's open from about 6:30am until about 9pm every day (varies by location).

Starbucks in Downtown Philadelphia (1201 Market, Philadelphia)

An old faithful for me is Starbucks. Whenever I go to Starbucks I feel re-energized to get some work done. Maybe it's the strong coffee (which is my absolute favorite) or maybe the other motivated folks who are there typing away on their laptops. The Starbucks on 12^th and Market is the same-it is connected to the Marriot Hotel, so you get all types of people stopping in for a cup of coffee. The great thing about Starbucks now is that they have teamed up with AT&T Wireless to provide two free hours of Internet each day for people who get a Starbucks card. All you have to do is put $5 on the card in order to use the Internet for free and you can use the $5 to buy a coffee! Pretty neat. As you probably know, Starbucks coffee is not cheap-about $2 for a cup of coffee, but the experience is worth it. Starbucks hours vary a lot in Philadelphia, but most are open from about 6am until 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday and 7 until 8 on Sundays.

Higher Grounds Café (631 N 3rd St, Philadelphia)

One of the biggest factors that I look at when I'm at a coffee shop is whether or not they have free WiFi. Free Wi-Fi is like my kryptonite-I find it very hard to pass up a coffee shop with Internet access. And that's what brought me to Higher Grounds in the Olde City area of Philadelphia. It is a small quaint shop that you might associate with "hippies" or "alternatives" just because of the mismatched furniture and laid back crowd, but it's actually a pretty nice set up. It's very comforting. While I don't particularly like their coffee ($1.50 a mug), I buy it so that I can hang out at Higher Grounds to get free WiFi and get a good atmosphere while I'm working. They are open from 7am-9pm Monday-Thursday, until 11pm on Friday, 8am-11pm on Saturday, and 9am-8pm on Sunday.