From personal experience, a small college town can support exactly this kind of atmosphere. Someplace with a healthy mixture of faculty, students and "townies".
The one I frequented almost every day of my master's, it had exactly what you describe. No open mic though :)
All the regulars knew each other, the proprietor was abundantly welcoming and chatty, and new-comers regularly got drawn into whatever the running topic happened to be that day. Opened in 2012 and still going strong as of the start of the pandemic.
I can't speak to larger cities. I imagine the rent issue is a significant obstacle there.
All the regulars knew each other, the proprietor was abundantly welcoming and chatty, and new-comers regularly got drawn into whatever the running topic happened to be that day. Opened in 2012 and still going strong as of the start of the pandemic.
I can't speak to larger cities. I imagine the rent issue is a significant obstacle there.