[neverending]

Well, they "stay afloat" (thrive, actually) by fulfilling a public demand. Simple economics. Over here we've gone well past the old joke of Starbucks right across the street from each other; now there are office buildings with 2 or 3 Starbucks. At the mall I used to work in when someone asked me where the Starbucks was, I had to ask, "Which one?" Hell, our LIBRARIES have Starbucks in them.

I speak as an outsider of this phenomena, myself. I never picked up the habit, but it's a basic component of modern working life- if you need stimulants to make it through the day, coffee is a satisfying, socially acceptable way to get them, as opposed to, say, snorting coke. I don't draw the parallel lightly- they're both dangerous, highly addictive drugs.

A coffee shop is also a convenient, socially acceptable place to meet and socialize without having to imbibe alcohol. They're also a lot easier to carry on a conversation in, as opposed to bars, which can often be noisy.

Aside from the high blood pressure, heart problems and other medical conditions over-consumption of coffee can cause, "coffee culture" seems relatively harmless.