I currently live in a city that *gasp* doesn't have a single Starbucks (the entire state actually)! Now, this isn't a bad thing at all, when living in Seattle I mostly avoided Starbucks and opted for the neighborhood cafe (Java Bean or Besalu).
Here in Hobart we have much more of the European style cafes with outdoor seating, small tucked away tables inside, and tasty treats to share with your coffee. This is not to say we don't have the chains - we have a few that are somewhat like Starbucks, but not quite. I really like going to get coffee here - at the cafe just down from our house, the guys remember me... and Gavin gets the same welcoming treatment at the cafe he frequents near work. This comfort and familiarity is amazing!
I recently heard that Starbucks has started to open up Starbucks shops in disguise as "neighborhood cafes". This did not sit with me well. The whole reason why neighborhood cafes are good is that you know the person serving you is probably the owner or at least has more invested in the job than the resulting paycheck- they work hard and actually care that they serve a quality product. This is absolutely not to say that everyone working at Starbucks are uncaring robots- hey I worked at a Barnes and Noble Starbucks while in high school and I loved it. My manager was passionate about her job (almost to a fault), and she taught me how to make an excellent latte if I do say so myself. And almost every year I buy my mom the Christmas blend because its her favorite (and the rest of the year she is happy with her folgers) :) .
Ok, enough of that. Tomorrow, lunch and coffee at Magnolia Cafe - Smoked salmon , capers, and cream cheese bagel and a soy latte.
I recently heard that Starbucks has started to open up Starbucks shops in disguise as "neighborhood cafes". This did not sit with me well. The whole reason why neighborhood cafes are good is that you know the person serving you is probably the owner or at least has more invested in the job than the resulting paycheck- they work hard and actually care that they serve a quality product. This is absolutely not to say that everyone working at Starbucks are uncaring robots- hey I worked at a Barnes and Noble Starbucks while in high school and I loved it. My manager was passionate about her job (almost to a fault), and she taught me how to make an excellent latte if I do say so myself. And almost every year I buy my mom the Christmas blend because its her favorite (and the rest of the year she is happy with her folgers) :) .
Ok, enough of that. Tomorrow, lunch and coffee at Magnolia Cafe - Smoked salmon , capers, and cream cheese bagel and a soy latte.
