So Rhonda is fighting back, and has launched her own public relations campaign in an effort to hold onto part of the local market. This morning, the billboard above went up on Route 23 and Willowbrook Blvd., right across the street from the new Starbuck's. Her message: "We may not be big, but we’re not bitter."
Mallek tells us: "When I heard Starbucks was opening practically across the street, I wasn't too worried. Starbucks is a fast-food place, like Burger King. A gourmet restaurant doesn't worry about shutting down when a Burger King opens up next door. So why should I worry about competing with Starbucks?'
When she saw two of her regular customers walking around with Starbucks coffee in hand, she realized it was time to take action, and advertise on a billboard. Mallek hopes the new ad will remind locals that their purchasing decisions impact the character of the neighborhoods they live in.
"I'm not trying to take business away from them," Mallek says. "That's not the point. But I feel like I'm over here trying to fight the good fight, like David vs. Goliath. Somehow, my shop needs to be as visible and as relevant as the Starbucks at the Mall. It's not going to be easy. But I'm not giving up."
Comments (36)
The Fine Grind is a real gem.
Starbucks is like a virus. It's replicating out of control and there doesn't seem to be any resistance to it's depradations from the host body.
I hope the ad campaign works. I go to Starbucks, here in NYC, largely due to the fact that this corporate intrusion into american life has made it virtually impossible to find any other coffee purveyors.
I continue to support Beans in Montclair. It's a great store and the owner is a terrific person.
The Fine Grind is an asset to the community. It has a great ambiance.
I urge all to stop by as they travel on Route 23 (Pompton Avenue) to and from the Mall.
There is ample free parking.
Real patrons in the ad, or models?
I'll check this place out after I shop at the Mall....
I have been there and it is a nice place - good atmosphere. Try the thanksgiving sandwich. Yum.
I keep reading the end of their slogan as "we're not BETTER". An optical illusion, perhaps... Fine Grind is a great place!
I happen to be a Fine Grind regular and I'm fairly certain that those are actual customers, I have seen them there before.
BTW....Love the place, the best espresso around!
I'm proud of you! Any chance you'd want to start your own "chain" and open up a Fine Grind in Bloomfield right across from the train station? Bet you could get a deal- just contact the mayor or the M Saltzman from Newwork in Newark who is helping with the town planning. He is working with all the property owners and developers. Rumour has it there is a redevelopment going on...on the other hand...it is unpredictable...ha ha ha-anyone with a good plan go for it-
I've noticed in several places that the reverse has happened - indie coffee places have opened up very near to Starbucks outlets - & they seem to be thriving. Hopefully this will prove true for Ms. Mallek.
One edge that the indies have is not serving everything in those blasted paper cups to their sitdown customers. The few times that I patronize Starbucks when there's nothing else around, that always ticks me off.
you know crank, starbucks serves in mugs if you ask.
Do they have espresso cups as well? I didn't see either on display last time I was in one (NYC, don't know if that makes a difference) so it didn't occur to me to ask. Next time I need a shot from Starbucks I will ask & see what happens.
Actually very few Starbucks these days offer real mugs, especially in NYC. I think the point is you shouldn't have to ask....
Do they have espresso cups as well?
The ones I frequent do. And nice, heavy, "nautical" type mugs.
"you shouldn't have to ask...."
The Montclair Credo.
"you shouldn't have to ask...."
The Montclair Credo.
When I order my 'dopio' @ Starbucks on 'old slip' they say dopio 'to go' . I get the paper cup. I think the civilized thing to do is to drink the espresso in the mug that would be supplied, if I weren't in such a rush to get back to my stupid desk.
I usually ask for my L-dopamine in a ceramic mug. With just a spoonful of sugar.
The reference to L-dopa reminds me... last night I watched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the one with Donald Sutherland). I've come to a major life decision. I would like to be a pod.
With reference to the original movie version of Jack Finney's novel, walleroo, any "crop" that is being raised by none other than Sam Peckinpah playing a farmer is not destined to have a long life span. You might then wish to rethink your wish here.
I'd rather be a 'Triffid' than a pod.
You're dating yourself there, MellonBrush.
And I always think of the noise the Triffids made when gathering round the lighthouse as lasermikey's real conversational tone.
I don't remember the lighthouse scene. I remember that this movie scared the crap out of me when I saw it at the Beacon Theater in East Orange.
Another of my favorites: "Attack of the Killer Shrews".
The Beacon had great 'monster movies' , double features on Saturdays for 35 cent addmission.
I saw 'The Tingler' there too. Some of the ushers actually threw rubber 'tinglers' into the audience and almost caused a riot.
"Some of the ushers actually threw rubber 'tinglers' into the audience and almost caused a riot."
This sounds hystercial! Would have loved to see that.
I saw a movie in the early 1908s called "Parasite," which was very similar to plot to "The Tingler." And it was in 3-D...really cool. It felt as if the parasite was in the same room with you.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084472/plotsummary
And then there's "Night Of The Lepus" (starring Rory Calhoun and Stuart Whitman!), which has the classic line, "There's a herd of giant killer rabbits coming over the hill." (Possibly this had special resonance to Jimmy Carter?)
All these movies, however badly done the "monsters," certainly hail from a kinder, gentler era than the one we have now which has spawned "Saw" and "Hostel."
Did your theater, MellonBrush, ever have those live shows with monsters in glow-in-the-dark masks? Two features, a very racy comedian (for the times) and a blackout with monsters strolling up and down the aisles, usually having to fight off teenaged gang members who were trying to pull their masks off. At my local theater at the time, they always had to cut those blackouts short because of the violence.
"All these movies, however badly done the 'monsters,' certainly hail from a kinder, gentler era than the one we have now which has spawned 'Saw' and 'Hostel.'"
Agreed. I LOVE monster and horror flicks but even I won't see "Hostel" or "Saw." There's something too real about THOSE monsters.
Fine grind is an awesome place i frequent.As far as im concerned they have nothing to worry about, they have a very good product and its a very cozy atmosphere unlike the ratrace convention that starbucks has to offer.
Fine grind is an awesome place i frequent.As far as im concerned they have nothing to worry about, they have a very good product and its a very cozy atmosphere unlike the ratrace convention that starbucks has to offer.
Cathar, I don't remember the Beacon, ever having live entertainment of the sort you experienced. Perhaps the 'tingler' incident may have convinced theatre managment that 'live' interactive entertainment was not such a good idea afterall.
I still remember the occasional stab of sunlight as kids in the audience opened the fire exits near the stage to let their friends in.
How's the music @ the 'Fine Grind'?
Do they have an 'open mic' up there?
There was a time, MellonBrush, when those monster shows were quite common.
But then, I even remember when the long-gone Central Theatre in Passaic once featured the Dave Clark Five at the very height of their teen idol-ness.
Even that both of us remember double features dates us, of course. Just the idea that so much dreck running in multiplexes these days can be positioned as "A" movies is really hard for me to accept. In the good old days, Adam Sandler would have been a contract player in Universal-International "B" comedies, not a star.
Coffee Houses are the devil.
The music at the Fine Grind is on Wednesdays and is very good. They have really sought out a nice mix of talent. Mostly acoustic gutarists singing a mix of cover and original material. They do have a jazz trio there on occasion as well. All the acts that I have seen were all good and very entertaining.
You can have your pods & triffids. I'm going with Creature From The Black Lagoon. He got to paw hot chicks in bathing suits & dine on lots of seafood. Now there's a role model!
cathar...wasn't that the Capitol Theatre in Passaic?
No, Nance, it wasn't. Years before the Capitol closed as a regular movie theater and then became a concert hall(as I recall, they then ran pornos to "fill" the seats between concerts), there was an abortive effort to restore the Central to a role it'd held during the 40's, when it;d featured big bands. Booking the Dave Clark Five was part of this, and as I recall, it definitely got a lot of publicity for poor old Passaic at the time.
John Scher booking shows at the Capitol was years afterwards.