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I guess a Starbucks outlet opening in close vicinity of my home deserves to make news on this blog considering my first post ever was about Starbucks. Starbucks was my daily haunt for two and half years when I lived in Atlanta. I missed the mom-n-pop ambience of the neighborhood coffeeshop that was Java Monkey although it was hardly ‘mom-n-pop’ in nature. It catered to an eclectic crowds of artists and musicians. The Starbucks near my second home was more corporate but its location next to a Regal multiplex gave it a friendly and personalized appearance. During the day, it served business folk and in the evenings especially during the weekends or summer, school kids hung out in the opposite plaza. Sometimes the kids made too much of a noise but were never too threatening. Probably the location in the upscale neighborhood of Dunwoody helped otherwise we would have seen guns being drawn [notice the lack of any racial stereotyping].
Now in the college town neighborhood of Northgate, Starbucks may be a wee bit out of place. Night clubs, bars, and eateries border the store but this district always lacked a good coffee shop. The campus coffee shop, [above Underground and adjacent to Sbisa] was okay but always presented a take-n-go environment as opposed to sit-awhile ambience. Plus, you always want to go away from the campus where you spend most of your waking hours.
Ash and I had always thought that the current location would be perfect for a Starbucks but was occupied with a staid bookstore for the past year. Perhaps someone else willing to get a Starbucks franchise had a similar thought and cashed in. Although college towns like the ones I live in prefer mom-n-pop coffee shops, Starbucks is the only coffee shop in walking distance of the campus. It opens at 5:30am and has a drive through which indicates that probably plenty of people will be picking up their dose of java to kickoff their mornings. Texas A&M not only has hordes of students but also plenty of professors and research personnel that would prefer the familar ambience of Starbucks. On the downside, strangely they do not seem to offer wireless; not even the expensively priced TMobile Hot Spot connections. The staff is a bit raw and amateurish (college kids afterall) with couple of exceptions that I recognize from the older store up on University. Hopefully as time passes, things will improve.
We have already spent a couple of evenings here and its location next to the busy University Drive makes it apt for whiling away time. And it is only a five minute walk from home. But for serious studying and good coffee, I’ll always head back to Sweet Eugenes.
by Patrix | on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 at 7:53 pm | 
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August 23rd, 2006 at 10:15 pm
In miami we only opt for the cuban cafeteria- less than a buck for cafe con leche which beats any starbucks offerings———– and theres one on every five minutes so you never really have to look hard.
August 24th, 2006 at 6:09 am
Hmmm…..you are aware of my opinions on Starbucks ;-)
August 24th, 2006 at 8:19 am
ahh.. starbucks… i go there for the enviormnent than the coffee.. have given up coffee by aboout 80% now..i am one of those ppl who go and order *gasp* de-caf.. have joined the very same folk i used to once laugh at..:( health reasons of course..
I saw an ad at starbucks for employees for the new starbucks ‘drive thru’!!!:O that basically screws up the whole funda doesnt it??
August 24th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Yes, it’s a nice haunt. We have one in front of Emory. I just find the price a little prohibitive. But I guess you can make it there regularly if you are saving money elsewhere.
August 24th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Starbucks does not put up franchises for sale. That is unique about starbucks….
Read the following link…
http://www.franchiseprospector.com/franchising-trends/starbucks.php
CIAO
September 1st, 2006 at 2:04 pm
To give you another perspective…
Here in Melbourne, where there is an abundance of good coffee shops (thanks to the Italians), Starbucks is where you go when you feel like going somewhere that’s pretentious and has bad coffee!