If we assume that this article discusses the reality of the West, then it would not be historically accurate to limit it to cafés. Historically and geographically, the urban planning of Western cities and villages always had the church at their center. The center of communities was the churches, while cafés existed peripherally. This holds true regardless of whether one is religious or not.
The abandonment of common religious faith (even as a cultural element), beyond everything else it brought about (positively or negatively, depending on one's perspective), contributed to the loss of the community's center, as well.
