Third places

I have never heard about those third places until I read about them in Chris Andersons blog. I immediately figured out that this city is full of them. Dominicans call them "Colmados" (col - mah - thoughs), and I think they fulfill each and every condition in the list. Basically a colmado is a convenience store. But they usually put some tables and chairs around. Many people meet there in the morning and in the night every day, to talk about sports, politics or whatever are the news of the day. Beer, which is very good, and food are inexpensive. Even tough I have never been socializing in a Colmado, I am sure it is easy to get into a conversation. Dominicans are specially friendly regarding this. I am sure I have never seen something like this anywhere else.