Starbucks has opened a new store. Err – nothing new there. But this isn’t just another Starbucks; it’s a coffeehouse known as 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea.
Apparently, it’s the first of three remodeled stores in the Seattle area. Each store will be presented as a community coffeehouse, bearing the name of its neighborhood, rather than the coffee-shop giant to which it belongs.
The new coffeehouses will serve wine and beer, offer pastries, host live music and poetry readings and make espresso without the automated machines.
But will they allow poets like Chuck Luden to read poems laced with F-Bombs and references to ‘Pussy’?
An attempt by a giant, monolithic corporation to take advantage of the popular trend of buying local. It doesn’t appear they’ve fooled anyone.
I think it is funny that they think these kind of shops are their competition. Mickey D’s is the one kicking their asses in coffee sales. Not the corner coffee shop.