if-you-were-to-name-your-favorite-cafe-what-would-it-be Coffee Shops & Cafes

Coffee Shops & Cafes

If You Were to Name Your Favorite Café, What Would It Be?

About this topic

If you were to name your favorite café, what would it be? This question reexamines the relationship between place and self, and the power that 'names' hold. A favorite café is not just a place of consumption, but 'your place' where memories, emotions, and identity are intertwined. Giving it a name is an act of incorporating that place into 'your story,' fixing it in words, and deepening attachment. A name is a 'poem' that condenses the atmosphere of the store and your memories; every time you call it, the connection between that place and yourself is evoked. This question explores how giving 'names' to everyday places changes the relationship between self and world.

Conceptual positions
01 Identity Theory Approach

Giving a name to a favorite store is an act of expressing and strengthening one's self-identity through place. The name becomes a symbol of 'self-likeness' and deepens the bond with the store.

02 Phenomenological Approach

The act of giving a name is fixing the 'encounter' with a place in words. By having a name, that store emerges from mere background into a 'place with meaning' and is deeply engraved in the experiential world of the self.

03 Philosophy of Language Approach

A name does not merely 'point to' an object but gives it new meaning and relationships. Giving a name to a favorite store is an act of re-creating that store in 'one's own words' and incorporating it into the self's story.

04 Cultural Anthropological Approach

The act of giving names to places is a universal human endeavor to take the world as 'one's own.' Giving a name to a favorite store connects to the modern creation of 'pilgrimage sites' or 'personal sanctuaries.'

Talk entry points

  1. If you were to give a name to the café or store you like the most so far, what name would you give it?

  2. Why did you choose that name? About the meaning or resonance that name holds.

  3. How do you think giving a name to your favorite store would change your relationship with that store?

  4. Is there a store you used to frequent that you still have (or want to give) a name for in your heart?

  5. If you could create a café like your own 'secret base,' what name would you give it?

  6. Do you feel that by giving a name, that store has become 'yours' in some way?

Conceptual tensions
Public vsPrivate
A favorite store is a public place, but by giving it a name it becomes a private 'your place.' This tension between public and private gives rise to the specialness of the name.
Fixation vsFluidity
A name fixes a place, but both the store and oneself are constantly changing. Giving a name is an act of capturing a changing relationship in an instant, possessing both permanence and transience.
Words vsExperience
A name is words, but the experience at the store transcends words. Does giving a name enrich the experience, or does words narrow the experience?
Self vsStore
Giving a name reflects 'one's own preference,' but it is also an act of trying to capture the 'essence' of the store. Which is the protagonist of the name — self or store?
Talk note

This theme is about talking about the act of giving 'names' to everyday places. We explore, through each other's imaginations and memories, how giving a name changes the connection between store and self. There is no correct answer; let's share feelings and thoughts about names. A name is a small magic that turns a place into 'your story.'

Glossary
Naming of Place
The act of giving a proper name to a specific place. By giving a name, that place transforms from mere space into a 'place with meaning' and becomes incorporated into the self's story.
Extension of Self
The state in which a favorite store is internalized as part of the self. Giving a name is an act of confirming and strengthening that extended self in words.
Power of Naming
The power of a name to fix an object, give it meaning, and evoke relationships. By giving a name to a favorite store, the connection with that store becomes deeper and more enduring.
Personal Mythology
The unique system of stories and meanings that an individual gives to their own experiences and places. Giving a name to a favorite store is an act of creating the 'personal mythology' of that store.
Dwelling of Words
When a name dwells in a place, that place becomes an 'existence that is spoken of.' A store with a name becomes not mere space, but a place of memory that is passed down through stories.
Talk prompts
Ice breaker

If you were to give a name to the café or store you like the most so far, what name would you want to give it?

Deep dive

Please tell me the reason you chose that name, including specific memories or feelings you had at the store.

Bridge

As you listen to the other person, try imagining: 'This person must also have given a name in their heart to some store somewhere.'

Further questions
  • Have you ever felt like telling someone the name you gave to your favorite store?
  • How did giving a name change your attachment to the store?
  • Do you still have a name in your heart for a store from the past?
  • How does the 'resonance' or 'sound' of a name influence store selection or memory?
  • If your favorite store disappeared, what would happen to the meaning of that name?
  • About the moment when the act of 'giving a name' transforms an everyday place into a 'special place'