Quick and Easy Killed the Coffee Shop

In the end, convenience won out. Fannie Mae, the new owner of the building, put in a 6,000-square-foot cafeteria next door, a place that sells "everything," Frank says. "Sushi, sandwiches, coffee -- there's nothing they don't have. We like to say that what we really want is personal relationships and community, but in the end, people chose convenience.

"It's difficult now to sustain an independent business anywhere because any landlord in a decent location knows they can get more rent from a national chain, and they know that chain will be less of a credit risk."

Visions closed in 2004 because the chains saw its success and moved in with their own theaters, offering bigger and better screens and more popular movies. Sirius's space is likely to be taken by a chain coffee store.

More than 150 people came to the Sirius farewell party. They said they'd see each other again.

Frank likes to think they really will. "As more independent businesses die out, there'll be a backlash," he predicts -- or is it merely a hope? "People will miss the personal attention they got. They'll see the failure of the convenience-driven culture."

Maybe. As I left Sirius, I had only 15 minutes before my next interview. I ducked into the cafeteria next door and grabbed a doughnut. I was in the car in under a minute.

E-mail:marcfisher@washpost.com