Where Can You Find Wi-Fi in WG?

In Monday’s edition, SJ Mercury News business columnist Chris O’Brien debated the merits of free WiFi provided by coffee shops, and provides perspectives from business owners on both sides of the fence. Some, like local WG Coffee House “Monsieur Beans,” find free WiFi — and the concomitant free electricity for laptops — to be important for their business model.

The Wi-Fi is free, and there is a generous supply of power strips to keep laptops humming. And nobody gives you an evil stare if you’re chatting on your cell phone or conducting a meeting. …

While spending a couple of hours at Monsieur Beans, [local pastor Daniel] Garcia estimates he spent about $6 on a coffee and pastry.

So was his business worth it?

Absolutely, says owner Andrew Zielinski.

“Offering free Wi-Fi earned us a loyal following,” he said. “It’s another way to get people to spend time here. It’s the same logic as offering live music or discounts.”

O’Brien also provides data from various large-franchise operations like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee, all of which offer free or paid Wi-Fi at their locations in our neighborhood.

As an aside: WGx is pretty sure that MB’s new owner has restored the previous name of the place: Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company

For his article, O’Brien finds the Wi-Fi naysayers from beyond the WG neighborhood, but for the record, Elva’s Coffee Stop (Website by WGx) does not provide free Wi-Fi, mostly because Elva frets over the lack of parking near her shop.

So then WGx got to thinking …

Where is the free Wi-Fi in Willow Glen anyway?

A few internet searches provide some possibilities in WG, but very little certainty until you go visit and try:

The promisingly-named HotSpotr.com seemed a good bet for local Wi-Fi listings, but a zip code search only produced Starbucks locations. Duh.

Something called the Wi-Fi Hot Spot List says you can find free Wi-Fi at Le Boulanger on Lincoln and at Vin Santo, but would you want that during a fancy dinner out? This list also says you can find internet access at the Hard Work Cafe on Almaden Road just north of Highway 87, but it’s not clear that it is still open. Further south, Brittania Arms is a good bet for Wi-Fi, since it is still open.

Another list called WiFiAreas.com also seems promising – if you can navigate the ads – telling of free internet available at the Almaden Road McDonalds (confirmed by McDonald’s website) and at Yagos Gelato shop on Meridian and Willow.

A site called JiWire also agreed with the above choices, including Yagoz, Le Boulanger, and McDonald’s on its site, along with both Peet’s and Starbucks. JiWire also says you can get Wi-Fi at West Coast Cigars, which is right next to the possible Hard Work Cafe connection, and a little more likely to still be open.

So, for those of you reading carefully – and thanks for sticking with us – you’ll note that none of the online Wi-Fi search tools mentioned above said anything about WG Coffee Roasting Company (nee Monsieur Beans) as Wi-Fi hotspot.

But Open Wi-Fi Hot Spots appears to have hit the jackpot. Maybe. In addition to correctly identifying WG Coffee (and agreeing on all of the others mentioned above), this website says you can connect at the Safeway at Hamilton and at the Three Flames Restaurant on Meridian. To its detriment though, the site says you can get Wi-Fi from Coffee Contata, which WGx is pretty sure is actually now a Burger King (and we’re not sure you can get the internet your way from there).

So, where is the free Wi-Fi in WG? WGx is about the begin the search … stay tuned.