Does North America struggle with 3rd space because of tip-culture?

I was raised in both Canada and the US. But for the last 8 years I live where Europe and the Middle East meet (best of both worlds). The cafe culture, and for that matter the restaurant culture, engenders a sense of 3rd place I have not felt since my days of drinking every night at a Texas ice house for a couple of years. When you go to a cafe or restaurant here, it's assumed you have the table for the evening. You don't get any staff to stop at your table unless you really give them a shout. They leave you alone once you have your initial order.

Compare this to the gratuitous gratuity engine that is eateries in North America: they NEED to clear you off their table, because they only get the real money if you leave. Is tip culture why the typical cafe or restaurant will never be a 3rd place? I go out to eat here, and it is assumed a 4 hour extravaganza.

I'm sure some radical souls on this forum are regularly camping out at restaurants. But I remember stories of Turks getting together at a humble Micky-D's in Texas, pushing all the tables together, and talking and eating for hours while the staff lose their minds.

There is that great story about the couple on the East coast who only opens their restaurant one night a month. They rent a commercial kitchen, rent a dining hall, pre-sell the night's meals and drinks. All the guests arrive and there is no ordering, no wait staff. The bill is paid before they arrive. They show up and it is just a party with whoever else showed up. This couple sells every plate every night they are open. What might it mean if North America shot tipping in the face? Pay the staff to be surly and board and to leave the diners alone.