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Yes, and historically, mom-n-pop style shops (not specifically coffee) made the property costs work by living in the same building or property. But if you own a house and want to turn the ground floor into a cafe: surprise, modern zoning laws don't allow it. Which brings it around to a similar issue as my original comment: strict zoning is holding back what our cities could be.

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It's the city councils...ours is criminal. All of them.

Planning decisions tend to be made by municipal staff not by elected Council. Regardless, if every city council/staff is causing the same issue, then I think that's a pretty reductive argument. We need to look at places that are doing planning/zoning "right", figure out what we're doing wrong, and improve it.

(And actually, all that has been done, but action isn't being taken, so now we have to solve that problem)

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