In Search Of The Hot Trendy Cafe

Some cafes I go to are hot and trendy. All the right people go there. Writers, young people, students, professionals, runners--it's a hot crowd. But other cafes are deserted, except a few bums and some scary people--the wrong people or a "cold" cafe. These two disparate cafes could be one block apart. I've seen it in many places.

So why is one cafe a roaring success but the other can't buy customers? If I were the owner, wouldn't I want a hot cafe, rather than one that is ice cold and doomed t...