Ori Feibush, the developer who founded the chain 13 years ago, said the shops were never profitable. He also cited "tens of thousands of dollars" in costs associated with a push to join a union.
They get support from ad revenue driven by writing good and informed stories. Also, that publication is about as local to me as the Anchorage Gazette, so I really don’t care about supporting them.
Ad revenue is actually barrier to higher quality content. Sure you’ll get some, but payment rate per click has been driven so low in modern times that it provides a strong incentivising pressure to increase production and consumption, not satisfaction or retention.
They get support from ad revenue driven by writing good and informed stories. Also, that publication is about as local to me as the Anchorage Gazette, so I really don’t care about supporting them.
Ad revenue is actually barrier to higher quality content. Sure you’ll get some, but payment rate per click has been driven so low in modern times that it provides a strong incentivising pressure to increase production and consumption, not satisfaction or retention.