Thank you! it was the term "butties" really - I am not familiar with it. (I like mine with bacon and honey)

Hmm, honey ...

Guess what I've found!
An autonomous crafting mod
(https://www.tumblr.com/gummilutt/73...ms?source=share)

I was actually downloading it for another project (my "let's make clubs!"-idea were I will group sims with the same interest to hang out, work on their hobbies and drink, kinda like the ts4:s Get together).
Coincidentally I need to build some new lots or re-purpose the ones I already have (and don't play on).

I know this is a Late Post,
My thoughts might be controversial.

Early on while playing, I got frustrated with the Community Lots as presented in the game, even the Residential lots.
I started using the original lots as starting Templates to add on to or remodel.
I have found built Coffee Shops with a Bathroom across an alley, Mansions with only one Shower.
Now most of the time (even with Downloaded CC) I take a picture and use it as Inspiration to start a New Lot from scratch,
far easier than moving or erasing the existing walls, objects or terrain.
After I learned how to build Parking Lots, I Rebuilt everything.

Also, I see no reason for decorative foundations or elaborate roofs. The Sims don't care,
and it makes it much easier to modify floorplans or have an attached garage without porch steps.
It just adds computer space and time.

To Answer the original Question, if sims have a day off, usually they go to a park, early evening a cafe or coffee shop.
After sunset they socialize at a Bar, either waterhole, neighborhood, pool hall or dance club.
I really enjoy owning stores, especially Art Galleries and Car Lots.

If you Know the History of the Sims, it was originally an Architectural tool to study human traffic flow,
something I am very proud of in my game.

I've a personal world built from (mostly) scratch, so a good chunk of the community lots are ones I've built and range from simple and scenic to jack-of-all-trades cram-everything-into-these-dang-rooms types of lots.
Firstly, chiefly, and most often visited, the rec center. A song and dance hall serves as its atrium, with ballet barres, dance floor, and a karaoke machine. Upstairs you've got the community room with a television, mini-library, dartboard, billiards and chess table, and crossing the balcony overlooking the atrium is the creative corner with easels, instruments, the other creative hobby fixtures, and a poker table. Back downstairs, past the cafe with a coffee counter, Japanese food stand, and two vending machines is the back yard, complete with a grill, sports corner, playground, and fishing pond. Wrapping up the rec center is the old lookout tower- a woody, three-story tower with the topmost floor converted into a quaint ballroom.

Next, and much less extensive, the neighboring commercial building. A combination sandwich shop for a quick bite, a video game store to pick up the hottest EA titles of 2003 and play them with your buddies, and a non-functional curio store. Like a lot of my Sims 2 lots, I love to recreate as many as I can in the Sims 3. I mention this because the curio store gets MUCH more mileage there as a consignment store.

Down the road and a hill, and very geographically inaccurate for the region the world is based on but dangit I wanted a beach for the main neighborhood, is the beach. Not too much of note, I just wanted a beach for sun, swim, and surf. There's a boardwalk with food and ice cream stands, and a few instruments for live music.

Looping back to the top, and delving into real-world replicas is the alternative for summer fun- the neighborhood pool. Outside's fairly standard, pool deck with all the fixins, basketball court, and a mini-playground. The inside is where the creative liberties start, 'cuz I never got the chance to go there. Two different kinds of mini-gyms, a rec room, office, and big ol' bathrooms suited for community pool needs.

In the next (sub-)town, going from real world replicas to movie replicas, Pizza Planet. As much as arcades got WAY more love in Sims 3 over Sims 2, the objects of 2 can still serve a great arcade experience. Past the main row of machines, LAN parties can be held in central command. Past central command, console games can be played in 4k (crudely upscaled from 144p using primitive 2003 technology) on the giant screen. You can get some alien slime (red variant only) and then try your luck and fate in the electrosphere. They've got minigolf and pinball, and even a medical dummy for a totally accurate alien operation simulation. Sadly no crane claw in this version. :[ Pizza is served through modded objects in both 2 and 3. :]

Downtown, and back to reality recreation, the airport. More interesting, noteworthy, and slightly more practical than the dentist's office with two arcade games in the waiting room, a mishmash of tangentially fitting rooms from memories, and a grand cafeteria filling in most of the main building's empty space. I like to take my sims to the airport before the Takemizu trip, as a roleplay scenario. Past the main, rather typical airport building is the open courtyard, complete with a coffee shop, playground, and palm trees aplenty. Up the stairs, past the gift shop, is the tall rotunda, and due to Sims 2's lot size limitations, only has two gates. Though one has a functional walkway connected to a crudely built facsimile of a passenger plane.

Last lot I'd like to note is a restaurant for Twikkii Island. The idea and layout came to me in a dream where I met an island mystic who instructed me to ride a metal trashcan mounted to the spinal barb of a skeletal whale through a grotto to an island within a pond on the island and discover its secret. Its secret was a little tropical diner opened up by two of my uncles, and there was a bridge connecting the inner island to the main island.

The no. 1 best animated movie in the world has some representation in the sims, that's neat Can you please, please show me photos?
Also, thank you for your lengthy text!

That was me trying to be concise, but I appreciate your appreciation. :]
And yeah, here's some pictures of the exterior, interior, and location in action.

This is cool! Thank you, thank you

A beach.
Could be a simple beach or something with a whole boardwalk, but I enjoy sending my sims to a beach more than anything. I'm such an Aussie.

Sim Wardrobe's arcade machines did a lot to fill the gap.

It's a pity that noone made a claw machine for Sims 2. Especially the ability for fairies to fly in and steal a toy. XD

I think, as coffee places go (I have quite a number of them), the one with that bingo thing (sorry, can never remember that name) is always fun. And my VERY OLD Club Anders, uploaded ages ago when my building was worse than today, still has the vibes!!!

Has anyone mentioned having a Park or Nightclub
with an Open Stage? After one person starts, it fills up quick.
Jazz and Rock both work well.
There is a mod, I think called a Dance Mod, that helps the Tip Jar.

I know I'm missing a lot, but I uninstalled the Seasons program.
To me it was no fun.
Always gloomy weather, everyone in coats, or complaining about air conditioning.
Skating and Snowmen were fun though.
No Pets either.
Never managed to graduate anyone from a university.

I have my Rock and Roll Park.

For me, I guess my favorite lots would be my all-in-one shopping centers and then my town squares/coffee shops. It's probably a holdover from my early TS2 simming days--a bit like simmer22 mentioned I used to have super long loading times on previous computers. So I didn't really use community lots much and so when my sims did go out shopping, I tried to do as many things as possible on the one lot. Nowadays I don't have the loading screen problem but I find I do still gravitate towards shopping centers for quick outings. I love to renovate Maxis lots--that way I don't have to think of an interesting facade or roof line. Though sometimes in newer hoods I find a cc lot or find inspiration from Pinterest or an image search to get a building shell. Once I have the outer walls, it's way easier for me to gut the inside and rearrange things to my tastes, or, if I'm working off of a picture, I just make up the inside layout once I get the idea for the outside.

Anyway, some of my most used lots are the ones I've renovated a few times, so The Corner Shoppes and the 330 Main Street lot in Pleasantview are my go tos. Especially with the original Corner Shoppes, there was just so much wasted space. I added a grocery section and a functional dining area (added a podium and a kitchen), and redid the arcade. Probably added a coffee stand if there wasn't one. In Pleasantview, I added a grocery section and a coffee stand. Much more functional for my sims, especially when Downtown--they can shop and get some entertainment and then if they meet someone interesting, they don't need to go anywhere for a quick date or outing.

And even though I'm not a big fan of coffee irl, I always make sure my sims have a coffee place. Usually it's the town square--just a square with a coffee stand and some chess tables, maybe a vending machine and bathrooms. Oh, that reminds me of another favorite--Go Here Sunshine Park! My town square lots are modeled after that one. I usually don't even edit Go Here Sunshine Park but it is one of my absolute favorite lots; perfect to meet new sims and coffee provides an energy boost if sims are out for a while (especially if you have mods). My sims often go there if they're looking to meet someone new, friend or significant other, or if they hope to catch sight of a supernatural. Idk why, but I just think the town square concept is perfect for me--lots of foot traffic, so great place to meet and mingle, but not too resource intensive, so you can stay there a while and/or load quickly. Plus a few well placed trees and fountains make for a scenic backdrop. Simple but effective.

Then after a grocery store and coffee stand, I usually make sure my sims have a place to hang out, a bar or someplace with fun items, etc. That place usually ends up being a bowling alley because there are just so many of them! But I'm trying to place more roller rinks in my hoods nowadays so that they get some use too. Either way, I stick an arcade on the same lot and it's great for a family fun lot, date night, or teen hang out.

Now that I'm trying to build more, I usually think up what I like my sims to do or which groups of sims need places to hang out and then come up with lots around that. And I'm trying not to put too many activities on one lot anymore so I can fill up the neighborhood with different buildings. It can be a bit of a challenge sometimes to come up with different restaurants and nightclubs but it's also rewarding and quite nice when I finally get a few lots together and have a section of the neighborhood all filled in. Maybe it's just me, but I like having options and going, 'oh, the gearheads hang out at that bar' and 'all the posh rich sims shop over there' and 'that restaurant is so fancy; it's the place to go for date night or if you're looking to propose.' Things like that.