Latte Wars
Starbucks (Officially) Rears its Head in Downtown Missoula
By Dana Green, 2-22-06
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It’s official, latte addicts: The sign is up, and Starbucks is headed downtown.
The national coffee behemoth unfurled its banner Wednesday over the site of a new store in downtown Missoula, at the intersection of North Higgins and Pine. The building space, owned by Charles Stevenson, was the former home of The Trail Head.
A Colorado firm, Epic Construction, is handling the work, now slated to be done April 4, according to contractor Mark Durham. It was originally scheduled to be completed Feb. 10.
The construction company is kept busy across the country building franchises for national restaurant chains, including Finnegan’s, IHOP, and Chili’s. But Starbucks is their chief client, Durham said.
“They’re busting out a lot of coffee shops,� he said.
The rumors first started flying last summer, when residents heard the omnipresent green lady was setting up shop in Missoula’s quaint downtown area. Missoula is already home to two Starbucks shops, both outside of the downtown business district.
A few supermarkets, as well as the Barnes and Noble store on North Reserve Street, also contain “mini-Starbucks� coffee bars, a scaled-down version of their full coffee establishments.
But downtown Missoula, largely chainstore-free, is new territory – and its raised the hackles of more than a few residents.
Some are planning to protest the downtown Starbucks when it throws open its doors.
But the protests are typical, laid-back Missoula: Advocates will be cajoling residents into a boycott, by offering organic, shade-grown coffee for free on the sidewalk outside the new shop.
“The day they open, we’re going to be giving away organic, free trade coffee all day,� said Bradford Cern, a Missoula bike messenger involved with the protest effort. “Starbucks can serve you crappy coffee for an arm and a leg. We can’t do mochas, but we’ll have soy milk.�
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Comments
Anyone who wants to see the locals survive would be far better off spending their energies encouraging their fellow residents - and tourists - to shop local, and reminding them of the benefits of doing so.
Our local Starbucks supports the community very passionately, in everything from Habitat for Humanity to minor hockey. They hire special needs employees and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
What more can you ask from a business in your town?
You ask what more we can ask from a business here in Missoula? Generally we ask a lot--everything you mention and more. Community involvement is important, and is something that many of our downtown shops beleive in. In addition to supporting local cultural, social, and athletic events, local shops add a degree of color and flavor to areas that no starbucks ever can--unless you like the contrived, calculated flavor that every other starbucks in the country has. No origniality or creativity, just variations on the same theme everywhere you go.
Additionally, profits from local coffee shops tends to stay close to home, allowing for further local investment in the community. Starbucks profits get shipped off in giant suitcases to the company HQ three states away. Further, local shops are also more likely to hire local contractors, keeping even more money close to the source.
Adam.
As for profits moving elsewhere, sure a portion of the money goes to Seattle. Big Deal. The increase in local coffee consumption (in Starbucks case, mostly the tourists) probably still has a net increase on the local take.
My advice to Missoula is to pick your battles. The greater evil would be a Wal-Mart, and the reasons are well documented. As others have stated here, if you don't like it, buy your shade-grown, organic, fair trade skinny latte somewhere else.
But the retail world has always had a power-law distribution since the advent of big-box retailers, and that's not going to change any time soon. I was commenting on the effectiveness of the response, not whether it's right to respond. If residents of missoula value their local purveyors, and -- important "and" -- those purveyors do a good job of reminding them of their value, they will vote with their wallets.
a) There are at least 5 coffee houses within short walking distance of the new SB. Break Espresso, is just a couple doors down. Wordens market has an espresso bar and is right across the street. What the heck do we need another coffee store for? Especially one that is likely to usurp revenue from locally owned shops nearby. If tourists want Starbucks, they can drive themselves to one of the other 4 that now take revenue from local entrepreneurs. I must admit that Starbucks has done a great PR job touting their social responsibility, but you too can be a great corporate citizen if you can afford to pay a marketing firm to paint your roses red.
b) There is a larger problem on the horizon for local downtown businesses. I worry that with more and more foofy upscale shops moving downtown that they will eventually price out the small locally owned shops that serve the larger community.
c) I'm pretty sure they are working on the "if you build it, they will come" principle. As far as I know, nobody asked for star bucks to help us with our coffee needs. They are creating their own demand. The average profit margin of these stores is well over 50%. And although their pledge to sell fair-trade coffee depends on consumer demand, I don't think that their presence here is based on consumer demand. And how can any body deny a company that puts almost $500,000,000 in the bank at the end of the year.
My 2 cents
Also, not all local business/property owners are saints.