Coffeeshops often used to have old couches that were picked up from thrift stores. They were designed to be comfy and inviting. Coffee wasn't seen as an expensive purchase back then, and neither were the pastries that some of them sold. They knew the average customer was unlikely to spend more than $3 or $5, perhaps $10 if they were a massive spender, and so the goal was to make the coffeeshop a comfortable space for lots of people to hang out at.

A lot of them had poetry readings or even local band performances. Many of them were open late into the night, often til 2 or 3am so that students, whether in high school or college, could hang out and study somewhere other than a library or their dorm room or parents house.

Even on mainstream TV shows the coffeeshops looked cool and cozy compared to what's out there today. Here's the coffeeshop from friends. Nothing special about it, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any coffeeshop half as comfy anywhere in the country today