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So we wondered, why does anyone need the kind of informal gathering places captured on the silver screen in "Barbershop" or on TV in the Central Perk of "Friends"? Brad Keats has a few reasons.
When we caught up with him, he was perched - along with several other pals - at the counter of Sarkis Grill, a tiny diner in Evanston, Ill.
Between bites of a bacon-cheese sandwich, he told us why he frequents Sarkis when checking up on friends might be more easily accomplished via cell phone.
"We walk in and it feels like people know us and we know people.
It's all smiles," said the 19-year-old.
"Even when the food is done, you can still hang out for a while.
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It's just like a good place to be with people."Ray Oldenburg, should he ever visit Sarkis, might give the diner his blessing.
He's the sociologist who 15 years ago coined the term "third place" to describe such hang-outs, beyond first place (home) and second place (work).
Despite all the techno-gadgets that keep us in contact with others, he says that places where people can relax regularly and establish connections with others are essential to our well-being.
"What good are they (those gadgets) at a funeral?
" Oldenburg said.
"What good are they at a wedding?
What good are they when you need a helping hand physically?
What good are they when you want to borrow something?
"Virginia Gundlach might agree.
She works at Markland-Hubbard Gourmet Provisions, a scgne's throw ...
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