It seems Starbucks is not welcome in the North Fork, at least that’s what we’re hearing.
Here’s a bit from the Associated Press story:
Residents of the North Fork of Long Island are apparently suffering from Frapuccino rage.The Starbucks global chain of coffee shops has moved into Greenport, Southold and Mattituck. The towns have long resisted big-box stores, franchises and corporate retailers — even passing codes to shut them out.
But the desire for Starbucks ventis and caramel macchiatos is apparently too strong to resist.
Greenport Village Mayor David Nyce says he admires Starbucks’ corporate structure. But he says he could take or leave the company’s coffee.
Now Starbucks didn’t become the coffee behemoth it is without repeated, and repeated patronage, so it may be fair to say these East End shops will do a healthy amount of business. But opponents say Starbucks will put pressure on local coffee shops, ones with deep roots in the region.
Could that happen? It could, and I’ve seen it happen before.
Right before the new millennium began, a local bookstore in the upstate college town of New Paltz invited Starbucks into an empty lot next door to it. It seemed like a perfect marriage, an independent bookstore and a Starbucks sharing a patio.
But the town howled. New Paltz, a clearly liberal locale loaded with small boutiques, eateries, bars and head shops (you know, tie dye, bongs, etc.), had once chased Wal-Mart out of town and many hoped to run Starbucks out as well. Unfortunately, they failed, and Starbucks opened on the corner of Main Street.
Then, over time and one by one, the town’s small coffee shops closed, others opened and closed, and some held on before eventually closing. Sure, other businesses came in, filling the shells of former coffee houses, but Starbucks was the ruler of the grounds.
So here’s the question: Who is to blame, Starbucks for saturating the coffee market, the independent coffee shops for not standing up to competition, or the customers for abandoning the little guys?
And I’ve noticed another coffee shop just opened in New Paltz. Good luck.
Starbucks offers an atmosphere that appeals to a lot of people. Their marketing genius is much more than just the coffee.
However, if you like the coffee, you might argue that you prefer the strong flavor of Starbucks coffee, or that you just find that you have a favorite drink and you’re just used to buying it.
OR, if you’re me, you’re finding yourself tiring of paying such high prices for a cup of coffee, at any shop, and you’ve learned to brew your own espresso and can make your morning iced latte for less than $1 per “grande” sized cup.
As for the little guys, I think that the ones who started a great shop and then later became complacent about how they treat their customers can and deserve to lose their customers to Starbucks, or any other chain.
The shops that have deliver a great cup of coffee and related goodies (Hampton Coffee Company comes to mind) will survive against Starbucks or anyone else who may come along.
Except, maybe the recession. Home brewed espresso anyone?
How long before Reverend Billy, scourge of Starbucks, pastor of The Church of Stop Shopping, takes his travelling revival show to the North Fork looking for a witness?
Agreed! If you offer a service that is better than the one across the street - people with find you and people will patronize you. Starbucks falls short in many categories that some good coffee shops have found and capitalized on.
In fact a really key reason starbucks has done so well is that they offer free Wireless Internet. As a business person I find myself looking for places that I know I can find a reliable internet connection, it’s almost more important to me than the quality of the coffee. I bet I’m not alone in this.
If you do have a coffeehouse that offers free wi-fi you should post it on the long island business networking website http://www.longislandbiz2biz.com Also there is a wi-fi locator and list of Long Island coffeehouses on the longIslandConnection.net.
Sorry - I posted poorly - that long island business networking
site adddres is http://www.longislandbiz2biz.com
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce