Iced Lattes all around! Starbuck's announcement that they'll turn off the espresso machines in five New Jersey stores, including the Wayne location, is a sweet ending to the frothing controversy over coffee politics in Little Falls.
You'll recall Rhonda Mallek, owner of The Find Grind stirred things up when she decided to take on the java giant, by taking out her own billboard. Mallek's stand for "the little guy" received national and international press.
Malleck says customers have been calling and emailing with congratulations since the Starbucks news broke. "Even though they're saying we defeated Goliath, we're not looking at this as a vendetta," says Mallek. "However, this is proof positive that the personal service of indie shops have an advantage of the ever-growing fast food chains. US World Report this week blogs about Starbucks that are closing all over the place, and how local coffee shops are thriving because of the personal touch."
Talk about your favorite, heat-busting coffee drinks, now...
Comments (35)
Ha! Score one for the good guys!
Starbucks sucks. Give me Dunkin' Donuts any day. A cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee is worth holding up a store with a baun in the bag and a gum.
Doesn't surprise me in the least, I'm off to The Fine Grind as we speak. Congratulations!!!
What? Somebody held up a Dunkin Donuts with a bean bag and a wigwam?
I agree totally, Nellie, about D&D. I'll take any excuse to buy a box of Joe and a dozen donuts--a little bit of heaven, for less than 20 bucks!
Starbuck's coffee tastes like battery acid.
No, battery acid has a nutty aftertaste; Starbucks drip just burns. To be fair, though, a Starbucks latte tastes pretty darned good, but a medium will set you back the better part of 5 bucks, and you have to wait on two lines to get it.
There are some places with better coffee than D&D's, but they're pretty much all indies.
Walleroo, that you apprecizte Dunkin' Donuts places you safely back in the fold.
I always found DD's iced lattes pretty good too, by the way.
Don't know if it's part of the closing of Starbucks' venues nationally, but after a week with the facility hidden by blue plastic, the Clifton Acme has just replaced its Starbucks with a Seattle's Best coffee affiliation. (I always associate this brand's stands with Glasgow, place is full of them.)
If Starbucks is so disgusting, stop going! And if they are so expensive, and so disgusting then why do you need to "take them on". I LOVE Starbucks (although in the UK they are better, incredible panani), and am happy when in a new place that Starbucks will give provide a clean, hygenic and safe place for a coffee. DD may be the same. Some indies are phenominal, and worth going the extra mile for, but many are not, and are dirty and unfriendly dumps. Let competition ride out naturally huh? The best will wn, and the consumer will have the most choice.
Starbucks isn't disgusting, Brit, but it is ubiquitous, which makes it, like the government and the weather and DeCamp, fair ground for griping. I don't go there for coffee anymore, except for rare exceptions.
I never knew I was out of the fold, nor that there was a fold in the first place. But I thank the Lord I'm back in.
Ah, but we'll still have THREE here in Montclair.
*grumble*
I'm no patron of Starbucks, but I often finding myself saying "If only Bean's had some seating". When it's a quick and tasty something to keep my hands and tummy warm while I'm walking in Winter, it's Bean's hands down, but if I need to sit down and have a leisurely cup indoors (whether to warm up in the winter or cool down in the summer) I usually switch to tea and roll on down to Terra.
For on the go coffee during the day: Beans
For sit-down and stay a while coffee: Cafe Eclectic
For on the go coffee in the morning: The little convenience store on N. Fullerton.
All three are cheaper than Starbucks and have way better coffee than either Starbucks or DD.
I've been to the Fine Grind about half a dozen times. Only once was I able to get a table. Every other time it was full of people reading, or doing their homework on laptop computers.
So I'm sorry that Starbucks is closing. That's were I would go each time I couldn't get into the Fine (but always too crowded) Grind.
Which convenience store? There is none on North Fullterton, but there is that dump on the south side of Bloomfield Ave--is that what you mean?
Never thought I'd say this (because I thought that being a Starbucks fan made me a coffee snob) but, in reality, it's all of you Starbucks haters who are the real coffee snobs! Just listen to yourselves! Why is Starbucks ubiquitous? Because there's a market for their coffee. Why is there a market? Because it's good coffee! Duh!
And if you need coffee beans and/or chocolate (you know these are good for your sex drive) then head on over to the Basket and the Bean in Watchung Plaza.
i do work on my computer at the starbucks in upper montclair. I can be there for hours at a stretch, and scores of people are there all day long. I love Starbucks' lattes and mochas. I also find working at my computer in the starbucks at that location a very upbeat environment.
Starbucks, whatever - anyone know where one can get a good Thai iced tea to go?
If you spent more time reading the newspapers, spaceck, and less time talking through your hat, you might know that Starbucks is currently in crisis. Duh!
Though I'll admit that the notion that D&D customers are coffee snobs is pretty amusing.
Walleroo, the convenience store on North Fullerton is on the east side of the street just south of Claremont, past Dem Two Hands etc. I've often wondered how they stay in business! Give me Beans any day, and add a delicious chocolate croissant, yummy!
Walleroo-
"Jack's", on N. Fullerton near the corner of Claremont. It is a couple doors down from Dem Two Hands. They sell coffee, bagels and pastries, newspapers, magazines, ice cream, quarts of milk, bottles of water and some small household, food and snack items, among other things.
We call it a convenience store!
Newgirl, many people don't realize how good it is for there to be a convenience store nearby to each residential neighborhood, so that people don't have to haul themselves way down to some main drag to go to one.
It is indispensible to have Jack's there when you are on your way to the municipal lot from your apartment in the morning and need to stuff something in your face and drink some coffee, when you wake up in the morning and get all ready to make breakfast and realize "D'oh! No milk!", and at many other times. I've had to run in there for something more times than I can count.
Gosh, Walleroo, you're right, crisis at Starbucks! Oh, yeah, and crisis in the banking industry, the manufacturing industry, the airline industry, the housing industry, and a bunch of others. Funny, though, that people choose to criticize Starbucks on this forum rather than caring about the bank that's holding their money or the company they work for! And, yes, Starbucks is closing a grand total of five stores in NJ. Guess that just means longer lines for that great coffee at Starbucks!
Amandala, it's always looked like a great store, but I've never had occasion to check it out, glad to hear it's loved in the neighborhood!
I very rarely treat myself to coffee made by someone else... and when I do I prefer Starbuck's 'mild' over Dunkin Donuts any day. DD's tastes like coffee-flavored water to me. But that's the great thing about the USA... choices!
I just have to point out that the store in Wayne that Starbucks is closing - at West Belt Mall - has only been open for a very short time, I want to say maybe a year. They took over the old McDonalds next to Pizzeria Uno. (Who would have thought a McD's would go under in the first place.)
What a colossal waste!!
Starbucks regular coffee is pretty terrible. Sure the espresso type drinks are all pretty good but just not worth it.
I have someone who comes speak to the young employees in my company about financial issues and one of his seminars is on "The Latte factor"... mostly exhibited by employees young enough to be barely earning a livable wage, with mountains of credit card debt and arriving to work every morning with a $5 latte. He simply shows them what they can do with that money in just a year and for some at least, they see the absurdity.
Why is Starbucks ubiquitous? Because there's a market for their coffee. Why is there a market? Because it's good coffee! Duh!
---------------------------
And why are a lot of Starbucks' stores closing? Because their coffee sucks. Duh..
Signed,
Coffee Snob
I think you're right, Drob. A medium latte in a NYC Starbucks costs 5 bucks (but you get back some change to throw in your jar). That's $25 a week, $107.50 a month, $1290 a year, and over the course of a lifetime-- assuming it was invested in an above average performing mutual fund--that comes to $73 million almost!
Seven and a half cents doesn't buy a hell of a lot; seven and a half cents doesn't mean a thing. But give it to me very hour, forty hours every week, That's enough for me to be living like a king.
very=every
Walleroo
Don't downplay the seriousness of the issue. If you invest $107.5 per month for 20 years at 8% per year, you will end up with $63,000. Which, coincidentally, is the expected price of a Starbucks latte in 2028.
latte, schmatte! whatever happened to regular coffee anyway? On the rare occasion I head into SB's and ask for a grande mild, they look at me funny and I usually have to repeat myself. If I wanted warm mocha flavored ice cream I would buy a half gallon and melt it myself.
Those fancy drinks crack me up!
but since even their plain ol' coffee is what, like $2.25, I don't often buy it out. I make a nice cup of Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend in the comfort of my own crib.
I like Starbucks cause they have hot chicks that act like they like you and stuff. I don't go to go-go bars anymore so this is almost as good!