Coffee shop refers to a coffee house where coffee is sold and consumed. Coffee shop shares some of the distinctiveness of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. In a Coffee shop, not only coffee is served, but also tea and different kinds of snacks are provided to the customers. Many coffee shops in the Muslim world and in Muslim districts in the West, offer shisha, powdered tobacco smoked through a hookah. From a cultural point of view, coffee shops largely serve as centers of social communication. The coffeehouse provides public members with a place to gather, talk, write, read, entertain one another, or pass the time, whether individually or in small groups. The current epidemic chain of coffee shops have a clear lineal fall from the espresso and pastry centered Italian coffeehouses of the Italian-American immigrant communities in the major U.S. cities, notably New York City's Little Italy, Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. Coffee shops have also proven popular additions to communities where alcoholic beverage sales are prohibited, such as in dry counties.

In the United States, from the late 1950s and onward, coffee shops were also served as a venue for entertainment, most commonly folk performers. Nowadays, coffee shops in United States and United Kingdom are small restaurants. Styles of coffee shops vary. Some ponder upon many styles of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, with possibly a collection of baked goods and sandwiches, while others offer full menus. American cafes may or may not serve alcoholic beverages, and the serving of coffee may be incidental to

the serving of food. British cafes, however, do not sell alcohol. Coffee shops developed from the coffeehouses became popular in Europe upon the introduction of coffee. Those also spawned another, totally different type of restaurant, the cafeteria. Cafes offer a more open public space as compared to many of the customary bistros, which were more male-dominated with a focus on drinking alcohol. Coffee shops are now located almost in all cities of the world. Coffee shops are great laces to spend evening with friends and having some fun or communication for relaxation of mind and soul. Coffee shops are developed in different types, such as open or outdoor coffee shops and indoor coffee shops.