If Anthony Bourdain Told the Real Story of Coworking

Part of the Coworking Confidential Series: Saying the parts unknown out loud

If Anthony Bourdain had traded kitchens for coworking, he wouldn’t have written about latte art or rooftop terraces. He’d have written about the back of house, the parts members never see, the places where the shine wears off and the truth lives.

The coworking industry has its own front and back of house. Out front, it’s a curated performance. The tour is a perfectly timed dance past lively breakout areas and smiling members, carefully avoiding the kitchen fridge that smells like death. You’ll hear about the big brand client, never that they’re paying half the market rate. You’ll be introduced to the one or two extroverts who can fake “community” on demand. Everything is deliberate. Everything is staged. And like in any good restaurant, the story you’re being sold is cleaner than reality.

Behind the Curtain: The Real Back of House

Future Leaders of Coworking

Back of house is where the weight sits. Community managers wearing every hat imaginable, stacked comically on top of each other — as IT support, event planners, therapists, and human complaint boxes. Being complained at about the aircon, refilling the dishwasher, then jumping into a last-minute broker tour with a smile so tight it could crack.

They’re the ones holding the trust, loyalty, and connections your brand is built on. Without them, you’re just a logo and a lease.

When the Spreadsheet Wins

This is the side of coworking most operators won’t talk about because it cuts too close to the bone. The truth is, the spreadsheet always wins.

Coworking loves to sell itself as “member-first,” but when a 50-desk deal lands on the table, the freelancers are out before the ink’s dry. Renewal rates can spike 15% overnight with no warning, sold back to you as “market alignment.” Culture shifts fast, but the story stays the same: “nothing’s changing.” Everyone knows it’s a lie, but it’s easier to let the narrative run than to challenge it.

The Amenity Arms Race

In the race to distract from the cracks, operators throw money at the amenity arms race. Beer taps. Meditation pods. Phone booths stacked like a honeycomb.

Phone booths are the perfect metaphor for modern coworking — a place to hide the chaos rather than fix it. They’re not about privacy, they’re about containment. Like keeping a boiling pot in the corner so the rest of the kitchen feels calm.

The Real Product

Here’s the thing nobody wants to admit: strip away the branding, the mood boards, and the latte art, and most spaces are selling two things — real estate to members, occupancy to landlords.

The good operators manage to balance both without burning people out or eroding culture. The bad ones confuse amenities for experience, filling the calendar but never the room.

If you really want to know whether a space is alive or already dead, it’s not about the fit-out, the coffee, or the event calendar.

It’s this: do you know your members’ names? Do you know their coffee order, their dog’s name, the meeting room they avoid? Does your team notice when they’ve been missing for a week?

If the answer’s no, you’re done. Members can get a desk anywhere. The ones who stay are the ones who feel seen, remembered, part of something worth turning up for. That’s premium. That’s sticky. That’s your moat. Everything else is garnish.

When It Works, It’s Magic

And here’s the beauty: when it works, when the community team is running on instinct and care, when the people running the show know they’re in the business of human connection, not just square footage — it’s magic.

You can feel it the moment you walk in. It’s in the hum of quiet focus, the unforced laughter from a corner table, the unspoken knowledge that this is a place people want to be. It’s imperfect, it’s messy, it’s human — and that’s what makes it worth building.

James Panepinto is General Manager for Clockwise Offices Manchester, England and UK Chair / Ambassador for FLOC (Future Leader of Coworking)