<p>I know it is a joke how many streets have more than one Starbucks, let alone other coffee shops & I admit that I will only go to Starbucks if there isn’t anything else around, to the point of going out of my way several blocks!!! ;)</p>
<p>Personally- while I have been grateful to find a Starbucks in Colorado Springs, where they apparently don’t drink coffee like they do in Seattle - I like to try different shops- not just automatically get burnt coffee.</p>
<p>I don’t know, but they’re still going strong in Vancouver, which has the most Starbucks of any city in the world, iirc. That includes the corner with 2 Starbucks, one on each diagonally opposite corner, and that as a city I can walk for miles without ever losing sight of a Starbucks.</p>
<p>I think most grwoing companies tend to add too much staff somewhere along the way. As long as it keeps growing nobody notices much. Now that they are reaching a plateau I’m sure they have some excess staff and can do some pruning. Overall I think they will be fine. I’m not going to McD’s for a quick coffee no matter what. A big attraction to Lynchburg was that it was among the first small southern cities to get Starbucks and it’s within walking distance of my house. That’s a happy retirement.</p>
<p>Also coffee is not $4, a grande is $2 and I can go back anytime that day for a $.55 refill.</p>
<p>Also, it’s nice knowing there’s a big chain that can at least make a decent cappuccino wherever you are. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly OK.</p>
<p>Ive been drinking lattes since 1986, as a newish mom and college student on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Not Starbucks- although I do admit they have done well- but can’t stand Howard Schulz.
I like going to coffee shops- they are relaxing- & I especially like the ones that have a strong community presence. Even Starbucks will have local art for sale on the walls, free magazines and newspapers to read & local flyers of community events.
Some have live music occasionally or regularly. Really you get a lot of bang for your buck ( or $2.75). Especially when you throw in free wifi ( which Starbucks doesn’t have)
They are nice community centers- a place where the whole family can sit down for a few minutes- without having to order a meal & to me, a totally different feel than a hamburger restaurant.</p>
<p>I especially like Vivace coffee across from the Cascade REI to study at. It is actually less noisy than the library ( now that they host readings and other activities) and it is easier to find a table to work at. Plus the music is good and they serve beer too! ;)</p>
<p>I like fast food - I don’t mean Mcdonalds ( although I have fond memories of the days when I could eat two Big Macs and not gain an oz-not to mention Dick’s fries )
but especially Vietnamese food- bahn mi ( $2 for a sandwich that I can only eat half of at a time) & pho ( noodle)
Cheaper than I could make it myself + yummier.</p>
<p>I know they aren’t going away- but I do wonder what is going to go into their spots.</p>
<p>My kids like going to get bubble tea- which I haven’t tried- it looks horrible.
We also have quite a few tea houses and juice bars in the area. ( but don’t have wheat grass added if you have had coffee in the past week or so, they will have to scrape you off the ceiling)
Our grocery store used to sell fresh juice mixes on premises- which were so good, but after the Odwalla pasturization problems they stopped.</p>
<p>I know it does add up. I always am lecturing my husband about how much he spends on coffee at work- when he has a perfectly nice thermos- but I have a feeling he likes to take a lot of breaks. </p>
<p>I don’t go every day or even every week but for a nice place to sit for a few hours- for cheaper than a gallon of gas it’s worth it.</p>
<p>Seattle is definitely “saturated” with coffee:</p>
<p>ONTARIO, CANADA,–A Seattle, Washington, harbor has been found to contain such high levels of caffeine that researchers have had to modify the tests by which they track water contamination, reports Murray White of Ontario’s National Post. </p>
<p>So much coffee has found its way into Seattle’s Puget Sound that researchers are no longer able to use caffeine to easily detect the degree of human waste flowing from sewer systems into the water.</p>
<hr>
<p>The article went on to say that there wasn’t enough caffeine in the harbor to give the wildlife a buzz. That’s reassuring. :)</p>
<p>The cheapest thing in Starbucks is a short cup of regular coffee. Not even on the menu, but you can ask for it. Plain tea (my choice) is also cheap.</p>
<p>I know many people who like coffee, but they’re not going to coffee shops for the coffee… they go for the chance to meet friends in “a clean well-lighted place” where no one has to clean up before/after. And, without Starbucks, where would people do college interviews? After-school tutoring? Use the bathroom on a long bike ride?</p>
<p>Here in suburban Mass, everyone gets their coffee at Dunkin Donuts. There’s a few Starbucks around, but there’s 3 Dunkins in our town alone.</p>
<p>I’m a tea-drinker, myself!</p>
<p>BTW, I think Dunkin Donuts has the best ads. Their latest, “I can’t feel my hands, I’m freezing at Pee Wee Hockey” - I love it, I know SO many parents who can relate!</p>
<p>I’ve never purchased coffee at Starbucks but then, I’ve never purchased coffee anywhere since I’ve never had a cup of coffee. I did purchase a pretzel thing at Starbucks once to carry on the plane for a trip and it seemed to be priced kind of high but they were convenient (in the airport).</p>
<p>Just saw a commercial on TV for Dunkin Donuts coffee, it can now be purchased in grocery stores…since I rarely frequent Dunkin Donuts (give me a Krispie Kreme anyday!), I guess I will now have the chance to find out what I’ve been missing…and it’s got to be cheaper than the Starbucks grounds we often purchase for brewing at home! (Too bad they didn’t say what stores it’s sold in…or, what STATES, for that matter). Anybody seen it in the stores yet?</p>
<p>Tim Hortons, which is a spillover (pun) from Canada, gives Starbucks price competition here in the Buffalo area. It’s a drivethrough with very high quality “plain” coffee – no cappucinos, lattes etc. I think the “TimmyHo” coffee is a shade better than Dunkin Donuts plain coffee, but I’m not entirely sure. A bit like Coke v. Pepsi.</p>
<p>Drive-through is essential in winter. I’m not going to jump into some cold air to run into a warm coffee shop. That’s a zero sum game.</p>
<p>Starbucks is fun for people-watching, and I always buy their CD’s for some reason.</p>
<p>Having stores across the street for each other or two on the same street gets Starbucks joked about a lot, but it is quite intentional. Starbucks locates two stores in close proximity to relieve the lines. Their research has shown that long lines annoy the customers and costs them walk-away business. Their solution? Multiple stores in busy locations.</p>
- I like to try different shops- not just automatically get burnt coffee.</p>