After reading a few of my posts, it may surprise folks to learn that for the most part, I am a fella who avoids confrontation (in the real world) like the plague.
But recently, I went counter to my natural inclinations and sought-out some controversy.
I found myself headed to a coffee shop that had become quite a central figure in a good old-fashioned dust-up here in our burgeoning ‘burg.
I headed to the epicenter of gentrified hipsterdom in Seattle, 15th Ave on Capitol Hill. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun strip – such staples of (high-priced) Seattle-only greatness like Café Victrola and The Coastal Kitchen anchor this mostly chain/franchise-free neighborhood.
Decent food, good beer, high prices and snooty attitudes are all served here as the clientele is all-to-happy to pay the price to be seen.
If you sense a wee lil bit of distain, good. You should.
But back to the controversy. I headed to the area to visit a coffee shop- 15th Ave Coffee & Tea. The faux independent coffee shop was nice enough, offering 15 kinds of whole bean coffee, numerous kinds of loose leaf tea and they even served beer!
So, you may ask- What’s the big-deal about this coffee shop? And what the hell do you mean by Faux independent?
Well this coffee shop wasn’t what it appeared to be. It was actually owned by none other than Starbuck’s. Yes, that Starbuck’s.
Per the Starbuck’s brass, this was Starbuck’s attempt to ‘blend into the neighborhood’ as opposed to simply running the local independent coffee guys out of town.
The fact that this shop was a Starbuck’s-in-disguise is what has the neighbors all riled-up.
Which brings me to my point: Since when did Seattle become populated by such exclusive unoriginal lameasses?
I headed to the coffee shop looking for a fight. This hipster idea of independent-or-die, just seems dumb to me.
*Disclosure: I am one of the seemingly few native Seattleites who unapologetically enjoys Starbuck’s. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the idea of hating the big company simply because they are successful.
The Seattle I grew-up in while a bit stand-offish, was mostly all-inclusive. Especially when compared to the separation (by race, economic class) that I had seen in cities back East- NYC, St. Louis & Chicago.
At some point, Starbuck’s was a Café Vivace or a Stumptown. It still blows my mind to see the lil independent guy so revered, yet the local company who made good, so reviled.
Granted, this most recent attempt to ‘fit-in’ by Starbuck’s could have been handled with a bit more tact. Starbuck’s, a long-time staunch defender of corporate trademarks, pretty much ripped-off the design/décor of 15th Ave Coffee & Tea from Smith, the bar next door. So creating a carbon-copy of the neighbor, all the way down to asking where Smith bought their awnings, was a pretty hypocritical move by a company known for suing TM-infringers.
All that being said, Starbuck’s as usual, did a fine job.
I used to be a coffee elitist, simply because everyone else was. In Bellingham, it was Tony’s Coffee, in Seattle it was Vivace and in Portland it’s Stumptown (though from what I hear, even the beloved Stumptown is beginning to get too big to be liked anymore). But after going to independent coffee house after independent coffee house, I realized something- The coffee at all of these joints was consistently horrible.
I began to ask myself: Why pay for an inferior product?
In my ‘independent coffee shop days’ was used to giving the glare as the soulless drones paid their toll to the Starbuck’s Siren.
Where it got a lil odd, was when I became one of the drones.
Trust me, I’ve noticed the glares, even got some nasty posts on my Facebook page when I noted that I was at Starbuck’s. The glares were even worse as I visited 15th Ave Coffee & Tea on Capitol Hill. I purposefully sat outside on the street to see what kind of reception I’d receive. And the blind corporation-hating hipsters didn’t let me down. I got a lot of glares, a couple head-shakes and a few sighs…Just as I’d expected.
I wasn’t making any political statements. I just wanted a decent cup of coffee. I guess that’s the lesson to be learned-
Turns-out it wasn’t just the coffee that was bitter…and a bit of the Seattle I used to know and love seems to have disappeared just as the coffee in my cup had.
4 comments:
Nice commentary JR :)
I don't disagree with wanting a quality product - I would just rather go to the tiny cafe down the street, where the middle aged owner serves my coffee and remembers how many sugars to put in. Now, being a teacher I was gifted many, many, many Starbucks cards- did I reject them, no. Because you are totally right, Starbucks brews a good cup.
Would I have preferred a gift card to my favorite coffee spot, yes.
I will argue that I love the slower pace that people drink their coffee around here- coffee breaks are well and truly enjoyed!
-M
xoxoxo from Oz
I think *bux's little ploy was a bit disingenuous, trying to hide their true identity and all. Who did they think they were fooling? Ripping off the neighbor's decor was also a low blow.
I still want Howard Schultz to go to prison for selling out our team, so I don't drink his coffee. However, I sure as hell don't get my panties in a wad if other people do. Drinking the hatorade just because Starbucks happens to be a successful business is petty.
If a small biz coffee shop sux, then I see no reason to support it. Besides, it's not like we lack an abundance of options in this city.
Traitor. I will never look at you the same.
*Glares*
Seriously, 15th AVE is the part of Seattle that reminds me the most of Portland. The glares are hardly surprising.
Random Thoughts:
I prefer locally-owned over publicly-traded coffee houses; I like knowing my money stays within the community, so to speak.
Employees that work there typically earn significantly more than their SBUX equivalents through tips because there isn't an army of six behind the counter; we're talking as much as 50% more in take-home pay in some cases (although their health ins. options probably are not as good). Also, their work environment is typically better and they are treated more fairly (not always, but I think more often than not).
In addition, the best tasting coffee I've ever had has come from these shops.
Also, some of the worst tasting coffee does as well.
My Faves: Caffe Ladro, Diva Espresso, and C&P Coffee.
That all being said, I go to SBUX/Tully's everyday because they're the only good coffee within 2+ blocks of me at work.
These two, especially SBUX, I enjoy because of the consistency of the product. I know what I'm going to get and there rarely will be much deviation from those expectations (no old or low-qual coffee, no weak coffee, etc.). I am not much of a fan of Pike Place Roast, but I'll drink it. The other types of SBUX beans I like much better.
There are a couple small business cafe/coffee establishments near work that I'd rather throw my money at, but their coffee tastes like ass to me (some people love it). And I'll drink McD's drip coffee with no complaints, so I'm not much of a bean snob.
The thing I've never liked about SBUX is the inflated perception people have (or at least used to have) of SBUX as an employer, like it's this wonderful place to work where you make a ton of money for a service industry job. The reality is, it's fast food without the grease. For what it is, working at SBUX is fine for a low-pay job. The compensation is on par with McD's I'm sure as well. And as a matter of good PR, SBUX promotes this misconception.
Nice post! Do you wanna hit up the fauxbucks again sometime with me?
ac
Anti-corpratism. I just like to know my money stays here. Anything privately (and locally) owned will recycle the money back into the local economy, anything corprately owned will recycle the money somplace else. If that is why the 'hipsters' hate Starbucks, then I agree with them. But when folks start picketing Stumptown or McMenamins just for being successful, then I start getting anyoned also. Personally, all I can say is, "R.I.P. Stuart's Coffeehouse, I will never know if Starbucks killed you or not, but you will never be forgotten."
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