Starbucks debate heats up Short North
Starbucks debate heats up Short North
Meredith Wilkie
Issue date: 2/13/07
Starbucks, a globally recognized coffee company with more than 8,300 stores, will be opening a new location in the Short North.
Although some welcome the anticipated summer opening as another choice for an espresso, others find it to be a setback for the community.
Paul Schwartz, a manager of The Coffee Table, a locally owned café at 731 N. High St. in the Short North, said a nearby Starbucks could hurt his business.
Valerie Carlborg, a Starbucks representative, said the Seattle-based coffee shop would complement independent businesses in the area.
“We feel that Starbucks represents one choice in the community,” she said.
“We anticipate opening our store in the Yukon building in the summer,” Carlborg said.
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February 13th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I do not really care about a starbucks, I would much rather have a starbucks than a Caribou Coffee, that place is the devil.
February 13th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Starbucks is alright. I prefer Caribou aka The Devil. :wink:
I havent been to the The Coffee Table though I’d like to check it out.
February 13th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I am somewhat saddened to hear that the Starbucks chain will be moving into the Short North.
Small, independently-owned stores and restaurants are what makes the Short North the unique neighborhood that it is.
While Starbucks coffee is great, I hope that by it moving into the neighborhood it doesnt open the flood gates of other major chains moving into the neighborhood.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Anyone know how they got permission to build the Starbucks in the Village? I always sort of wondered about that.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I have no idea, but in addition to Starbucks there is some kind of shipping store going in next to it. Either UPS or Fed Ex, I cant remember.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Here we go again. People in the Village LOST THEIR MINDS when Starbucks started their move in. Organized bans, all of it.
Guess what, a year later, most of those same people were sitting inside Starbucks sipping coffee.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Ha, yeah I figured that was the case. Well, this is sort of off the topic, but I’d be interested to hear the full story.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Well, the deal was that Isaly’s…who was a G.V. tradition big time, used to make their own ice cream back in the day…little deli…family owned…all that, decided to close (which made sense because their last couple years they were open like 10 hours a week).
Well, so the STORY I heard (and no way to know if it’s true) was a substantial contribution was made to the G.V. Society by Starbucks, as well as a lot of committments to how they’d operate that would be up to “Village standards” and the deal was struck (along with a HUGE purchase price from the Isaly family).
Well, being that it wasn’t only going into the same spot as a like 40 year Village icon in Isaly’s…but also across the street from Cup O’ Joe (original I believe)…HUGE uproar. When I say huge, I mean flyers on every telephone pole, organized meetings in the park, the whole 9 yards, pledging to boycott Starbucks at all costs.
Well…that went on for a couple months, particularly fervent during and leading up to the Village Valuables sale the first year the Starbucks was there. Unfortunately, no one told the 10,000 out of area visitors who come to Village Valuables, so the place was PACKED…and suddenly, there were a few Village folks in the line.
The next big bonus for Starbucks came when a guy that used to be somewhere in the management line of Cup O Joe banned dogs. Now, it had been up to that time you could come in, stand in line, dog on leash, even if it was a great dane. Starbucks suddenly had no problem with dogs (that didn’t last long, and they aren’t inside now) and all the dog people were like “hey…F CUP O JOE!..they’re corporate now anyways!…let’s go to Starbucks!”, and you had a pretty good sized influx of regular Villagers heading to Starbucks. I think that was the breaking point, because then friends of the dog people would go with the dog people and next thing you know everyone is saying “bah…Cup O Joe is no different anyways, screw em, the line’s shorter (or service is better, of seating is better, or coffee is better) at Starbucks”.
Now? Starbuck’s probably does close to twice the business I’d guess.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I live two blocks from there and am proud to say I’ve never been in the Starbucks. But I guess that’s because I don’t drink coffee. :lol:
I’ve been in the Cup O’ Joe a few times though because they resell Jeni’s Ice Cream and it’s much closer for me than a trek to the North Market.
February 13th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Starbucks… man… this is the one place that has me completely entrenched in the stereotypical American consumer culture. I’m no fan of globalization– I can barely contain my ire towards McDonalds– but I just can’t seem to find anything wrong with Starbucks to convince me that I shouldn’t get coffee there. I mean, it’s just that their product is good. Their drinks are consistently well-made, their establishments are typically clean, and their staff are typically friendly. From what I understand, they’re also very good to their employees, more so, anyway, than most corporate giants.
It’s hard to articulate why I find this kind of forward momentum acceptable for a company like Starbucks when compared with McDonald’s or Walmart. Maybe it’s because they serve a niche market; maybe it’s because they’re not peddling cheap swill; maybe I’m just weak.
Anyway, I hope that Short North visitors can accommodate both the locally-owned places as well as this new arrival. I know that The Coffee Table only accepts cash, so they’re going to have to change that if they want to stay afloat.
Where is the Yukon building, anyway, where they plan to open their store?
February 13th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
The Yukon Building is the former home of Functional Furnishings, right next to the 670 cap. Across the street from Utrecht. They’re building studio lofts above ground level retail.
http://www.yukonstudiolofts.com/index1.html
I toured their studio model at the last City Hop and I have to say that if I were single I’d consider it. They’re extremely affordable (around $130k) and sure, they’re only around 550 square feet, but if you’re single and are planning on spending most of your time either at work or out in the world, do you really need more than that to sleep, eat, and shower?
February 13th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Well, it was a really tough decision for me. I decided finally that there was only one way to make it. I got a cup of Cup O Joe house blend one day, then got a cup of Starbucks the next, the Starbucks was better, so I go there now.
February 13th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Starbuck’s…any American coffee chain is decent as long as you don’t like espresso. Starbuck’s espresso tastes like burning rubber. They burn the crap out of their coffee IMO. I’m an espresso nazi though, so I’m probably not a good person to listen to.
FYI…I make my own espresso at home from Kimbo.
Don’t know why I threw that out there, just popped into my head I guess.
February 13th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Well, I actually agree that their coffee is a little burnt/bitter…but amazingly, I think Cup O Joe is even more so! Truth be told, 9 times outta 10 I’d rather roll through McD’s and get my coffee in the morning.
February 13th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Thanks for that in depth story Core. Very interesting.
I think Starbuck’s probably does more business now, but I think they both do pretty well. I know a lot of people who just like their coffee more.
Personally I don’t drink coffee. But I like the smell.
But according to this article, McDonald’s new premium blend coffee tastes the best! Consumer Reports, take it or leave it I guess.
February 13th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I read that. I couldn’t believe it either, but I really don’t drink “American” coffee, so I can’t comment. Speaking of fast food coffee though, I’ve heard people rave about White Castle’s. Can anyone say if it’s really as good as people say it is?
February 13th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I think it’s an odd angle to write the story “SBs to squeeze out indie Coffee Table in Short North”, especially considering Cup’O'Joe is right across the street from Yukon!! I guess COJ has officially achieved WalMart status.
I also think a SN frequenter will be able to appreciate the distance between the Coffee Table and SB. The SN is certainly large enough that it can handle several coffee shops.
Also, the SN is diverse enough that different crowds will find their “spot”. For example, I like to rotate locations when I have studying to do. A friend saw me in the window of the Coffee Table, came in and said, “Jason, I think you’re the first heterosexual person I’ve ever seen in here!” I hadn’t noticed. But clearly, SB, COJ and CT will certainly have and keep their own crowds.
Incidentally, for me the most important aspects of a coffee shop are 1) free wireless internet, 2) electrical outlets. COJ meets both criteria, SB meets neither, and at the CT I found open networks within range…
February 13th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Actually, it really is…but I can’t tolerate the smell of the inside of the White Castle from the drive thru window at 6 am
February 13th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I actually think the one in the Village does have free internet, don’t quote me on that cause it may be coming from somewhere else…
February 13th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I drink coffee, but I guess my tastes aren’t as “refined” as most, because most of it tastes pretty much the same to me - McDonalds, White Castle, Starbucks, Maxwell House, Krogers, etc, etc. Good, but none of the “regular” coffee blends stand out as that much better or worse than the rest.
Now when you get into more specialty blends, a lot of those are good. I love Highlander Grog especially - that’s some tasty coffee.
As for Starbucks specifically, they’re fine - I’ll drink there if it’s convenient, but if I have a choice I’ll go somewhere cheaper - they’re definitely on the pricey side.
February 13th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
the ‘bucks usually offers wireless via t-mobile, so it’s $9.95 per day. the coffee table and cup a joe have free wireless. oh, and unless somethingn has changed recently, CoJ accepts credit in the SN.
February 13th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I don’t have any particular objection to chains; the question ought to be which chains, where. Starbucks will hardly be out of place in the Short North, and I doubt that they’re just going to set up something as modest as a mall kiosk. Despite the fact that it’s a chain, their stores actually do vary, if not tremendously, from place to place.
A Camille’s could probably fit into the Short North somewhere, or a Panera (I don’t think either of those have set up in the area yet …).
February 13th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
although the SN locale won’t necessarily be the case, one of the things i always give kudos to the ‘bucks about is the amount of old properties that they convert into coffee shops. in columbus we have an old pizza hut in clintonville, and old bank in bexley, and old friendly’s restaurant in grandview and also what i can only assume was an old photo kiosk on 5th in grandview. elsewhere i’ve seen them retrofit gas stations, fried chicken shacks, etc… many of these properties would have otherwise continued to deteriorate.
but in the summertime, i’m still getting my cold bomb from the coffee table.
February 14th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
awww camille’s would be a great fit in my opinion. there was one in the lobby of my building in chicago, little expensive for my tastes for what you get, but still it would be a great fit for the short north i think.
February 15th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Walker - you and Anne need a scooter!!