The Bigger They Are...
A few years ago one would have thought that Starbucks would never cease their ceaseless expansion. But it's finally starting to happen. At least in some places. Check out this map to see what locations are shutting down in your area (hopefully it will be many):
Starbucks closings map
Sadly, there is only one location in NYC that is closing. That will leave 289 still in operation! We seem to be the home of the classic Starbucks strategy of putting a location on every corner, even corners that are opposite one another. There is a spot in the East Village near NYU where there are about three within a two block radius. Yet each one is always full.
Small side note: a few years ago I had to spend a few weeks in Seattle working on a show and my first morning there I was desperate for some coffee other than the dreck being offered in the hotel. I figured it would be easy enough to find a Starbucks in their home city. After about a half hour wandering through downtown I finally gave up hope of locating one. Only later did I find that there were about eight in the neighborhood. They were just well hidden. But imagine my surprise and dismay and not being able to find one. It should have been much easier that it was.
Starbucks closings map
Sadly, there is only one location in NYC that is closing. That will leave 289 still in operation! We seem to be the home of the classic Starbucks strategy of putting a location on every corner, even corners that are opposite one another. There is a spot in the East Village near NYU where there are about three within a two block radius. Yet each one is always full.
Small side note: a few years ago I had to spend a few weeks in Seattle working on a show and my first morning there I was desperate for some coffee other than the dreck being offered in the hotel. I figured it would be easy enough to find a Starbucks in their home city. After about a half hour wandering through downtown I finally gave up hope of locating one. Only later did I find that there were about eight in the neighborhood. They were just well hidden. But imagine my surprise and dismay and not being able to find one. It should have been much easier that it was.
The people who work in the Starbucks that moved into the plaza where I work are really nice, which makes it harder for me to wish they'd close. They also have a drive-thru, which people seem to love. They walk into the library with their coffee all the time, which is nice to see. The only coffee option in the library is vending machine coffee, although it's a non-traditional machine and much, much better than what you'd typically get. Still not really *brewed*, though, and books and coffee just go together.
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Starbucks is, unfortunately, often the best or only alternative to even worse dreck at fast food joints or the like. I've generally been afraid of vending machine coffee though. It takes a special kind of brave to endure the risk that would involve. I'm pretty particular about my coffee, so I'm not altogether certain the vending machine would satisfy my desires.
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FYI, *Wegmans* makes the absolue best Soy Caramel Latte on the planet!!
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What other alternatives are there in Brockport?
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Java Junction.
I hate to admit it as my loyalty lies with the Leaf and Bean, but Wegmans does make a pretty good latte. JJ, have you tried the Candy Bar one? Mmmmmm.
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Since people in NYC don't have to drive, $5.00 coffee may still make sense. The rest of the world is having to find things to give up to be able to afford to get to work. $5.00 coffee is a good place to start.
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Yeah, because NYC is pretty cheap to live in other than the $5.00 coffee.
Remember, we live on island and everything has to be shipping in (even if just across the river). We don't really produce any durable goods or food here, so we get hit for gas prices pretty much just as badly as the rest of the country, just not as directly. Plus, if you do actually have to buy gas for a car here, there's at least a 10% markup over everywhere else. Just a few months ago, when prices were creeping up over $4 a gallon, they were over $4.50 here.
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When the housing market was booming, NYC was among the most affected by that circumstance, and it made it really expensive to live there, and it still is. In this economic situation, I think that in NYC has changed the least for most people than in most other places. I think that's why Starbucks is cutting back other places and not there. For this recession, NYC is in a relative bubble. The next one may hit there the hardest. I'm sure everything is more expensive, but in my experience, the rise in most things (except beer, which has nearly doubled) has been moderate so far as compared to fuel.
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I miss Dunkin Donuts. We have six Starbucks in the valley, but I don't there are any Dunkin Donuts in all of California.
I'm looking forward to getting a latte at DD next week!
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Whenever I hear a Dunkin Donuts ad on TV, I shudder a little. I think it's telling that a rather heavy-set actor is the voice for their ads. It just underscores how overweight people are in this country when they say "America Runs on Dunkin." Indeed it must, and that kind of makes me vomit a little.
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