Don't Fear Starbucks: They Actually Help, Not Hurt, Mom & Pop Coffeeshops

[$cirisme]

I bookmarked this article on Starbucks (http://www.slate.com/id/2180301/) the other day but thought I'd start a thread on it.

In its predatory store placement strategy, Starbucks has been about as lethal a killer as a fluffy bunny rabbit. Business for independently owned coffee shops has been nothing less than exceptional as of late. Here's a statistic that might be surprising, given the omnipresence of the Starbucks empire: According to recent figures from the Specialty Coffee Association of America, 57 percent of the nation's coffeehouses are still mom and pops. Just over the five-year period from 2000 to 2005—long after Starbucks supposedly obliterated indie cafes—the number of mom and pops grew 40 percent, from 9,800 to nearly 14,000 coffeehouses. (Starbucks, I might add, tripled in size over that same time period. Good times all around.)

I highly recommend this article, it's great.

[Storico]

:thumb: That was a good article. I also find it to be generally true. I work downtown and there are two Starbucks locations within walking distance of the building I'm in, plus a few mom and pop coffee places.... and 9 times out of 10, I avoid Starbucks. I dislike the high prices, the busy and crowded atmosphere, the assembly-line-style coffee making, and quite frankly the cruddy coffee. There are only two drinks I like there, and I can get both elsewhere at my favourite "little guy" coffee retailer. So.... :shrug: I've also found the article accurate: my favourite place hasn't gone under at all. It's thrived. The people there behind the counter get to know their customers, the price is reasonable, and the coffee offered includes fair trade choices which Starbucks prettymuch won't really do to any significant degree.

I love coffee, I love my local little coffee store, and I am not afraid of Big Bad Starbucks. :tongue: (I might get a stomach ache trying to drink anything bigger than a Grande there, but the ache will not be fear.)

Edit: here's a Canadian comment from me. In many ways, Starbucks is "the" American chain. Tim Horton's is what I'd consider the Canadian coffee empire. I'll drink Tim Horton's coffee, but not often. I'm beginning to dislike it for the same reason I dislike Starbucks. The price isn't bad, but the employees want to get you out of the line and out of the store as fast as possible. It's become a busy, crowded assembly line. My opinion is that coffee is to be enjoyed or inserted via IV but NEVER gulped without relaxing and enjoying it, so even a HUGE chain like Timmy's hasn't persuaded me to give up my favourite mom and pop coffee place.

[$cirisme]

I liked the comment I saw either in the article or somewhere in response to it... if Starbucks can be successful and still have Starbucks locations across the street from one another... then so can the mom and pop shops. :hehe:

[Jimmy Higgins]

I liked the comment I saw either in the article or somewhere in response to it... if Starbucks can be successful and still have Starbucks locations across the street from one another... then so can the mom and pop shops. :hehe:Well the difference from a Starbucks and a Walmart is that Starbucks is not trying to undersell it's competitors! If they were trying to do that, then they could wipe out all the other coffeehouses, but there apparently is more investment by them in the more expensive coffees.

[$cirisme]

Well the difference from a Starbucks and a Walmart is that Starbucks is not trying to undersell it's competitors! If they were trying to do that, then they could wipe out all the other coffeehouses, but there apparently is more investment by them in the more expensive coffees.
Did you read the article? That's basically what it said.

[Jimmy Higgins]

Did you read the article? That's basically what it said.Then I guess that means I didn't need to read the article. :teeth:

[Paintbucket]

Pretty good article. My town does not have a Starbucks, but we have a local shop that people around here seem to like. I like the local place here, and they are cheaper than Starbucks. My town has a bunch of small resturants that people come from 30-40 miles just to eat at, and we've blocked off a lot of big chains. Not too bad for a town with 10,000 in a county of 45,000 I'd say. Of course, we have a major region right next door to us, and all of the chains are there, but it is nice to have more local stores than chains. The place I go to college at is similar to my hometown as well.

[Tickle Me Mercury]

We are just finally getting a few 'Bucks in my town. I don't think the local coffee shops are trembling at all (though the SBs aren't being "aggressively placed").

I don't like coffee anyway, though, and all the tea they serve is store bought and marked up. I lose.