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Google's New Campus Will Open Its Restaurants To The Public (recode.net)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the snacking-with-search-engines dept.

Google's new 18-acre campus will feature a 595,000-square foot building for 2,400 employees, most of them engineers -- and its bottom floor will be open to the public. An anonymous reader quotes Recode: People will be able to walk through the middle of the building, where they can shop in retail stores and dine at cafes also frequented by Googlers... A summary of plans from Google also describes spaces for workshops and demonstrations of new technologies such as virtual reality. Visitors might encounter a pop-up store devoted to virtual reality or demonstrations of smart-home devices made by Alphabet subsidiary Nest, according to the spokesperson... This is the first time Google has built a campus from the ground up...

Generally speaking, Bay Area tech companies have tended to of cut their workplaces off from the communities surrounding them. Employees take private buses to their campuses, and stay on-site for non-work activities like meals in private cafeterias and exercise classes. Google offers similar amenities to its employees, but makes its open, grassy areas open to anyone.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports Google's new building will be "shaped to resemble a puffy white cloud, with solar panels on the roof... The campus also will have a plaza where the public can soak in performances."

4 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. AKA: Google Destroys local business by s.petry · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I work in SF, I'll keep the name safe, for a company who does not provide food perks. The reason they don't is that it destroys local businesses. I was not really sure about the impact until Google opened an office not far away. The bottom floors of most buildings in SF are local restaurants. Within a few months of Google opening with free food for their employees, the bottom of the building was vacant. Hundreds of jobs lost, from cooks and restaurant workers to food delivery and cleaning services.

    Not that Google cares mind you, as is obvious with this new deal.

    The populace does not need this, and it creates a public dependence on Google. So much for the small guy and competition.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:AKA: Google Destroys local business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But those Google employees still eat, right? Meaning somebody cooks for them, cleans, etc. In other words, the jobs moved elsewhere, that's all.

    2. Re: AKA: Google Destroys local business by sdinfoserv · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Don't think for a second the food is "free" : Google is retaining their staff on premise - less chance of someone eavesdropping on a call / conversation or shoulder surfing a laptop. Staff members continue to work over lunch since they're on the campus anyway and can have meetings while eating. Also offering dinner allows (encourages) staffers to put in longer hours not having to run out for meals. No, this is strictly an efficiency / security decision by the corporate overlord.

  2. What advantage does cutting off employees provide? by bogaboga · · Score: 2

    Generally speaking, Bay Area tech companies have tended to of cut their workplaces off from the communities surrounding them.

    Does this have a measurable advantage/merit?

    I can think of one maybe: Small chance of [trade or intellectual] secrets "leaking" out.