'A Pilgrimage Across Cultures': Tamanna Bembenek on finding her third space in Mexico

'A Pilgrimage Across Cultures': Tamanna Bembenek on finding her third space in Mexico

A couple of decades ago, I became fascinated by the concept of the “third place,” which Howard Schultz, then CEO of Starbucks, helped make popular. The idea came from sociologist Ray Oldenburg: a gathering place outside home and work. Maybe it was all marketing, but Starbucks wanted to define its cafés as neutral ground — a place to meet a friend, study or socialize without the usual expectations of home or work. Starbucks was never quite that p…