Every so often there's a place that I'll visit and not return to for years. It's a weird occurrence where you don't realize at the time but the place you're in somehow becomes a regular stomping ground.
For the past several months I attend a writers meeting and our fluctuating group of three to eight or nine are well received and accommodated. The servers chat with us and if they aren't assisting a customer they're cleaning, refilling the complimentary water (+1 in my book) or doing something productive, rarely have I seen them just stand around.
The Coffee Plantation is located at the end of the strip attached to the Gelato Spot and a Pita Jungle. In the past few years a lot of the shops' patrons were people from Gelato Spot needing a place to sit. Now the Coffee Plantations seats (inside and out) are filled with young adults sipping iced coffees, munching on croissants or sipping lazily on a whipped cream concoction.
Like my group a lot of customers are there in groups doing homework, attending a study class, hanging out with friends or conducting business. Over half will have their laptops and are hooked into the free wifi.
I would choose this place hands down over Starbucks... their coffee has a lighter flavor and slightly sweeter, their tea is always yummy, pricing is more reasonable & their baristas seem more genuine (sorry Starbucks but your people seemed to be trained to be a little too peppy. I just want my tea, not some tea and a shot of guarana).
A coffee joint wouldn't be my first choice of a hang out, but for meetups and meetings this place is great.