Starbucks coming to Brixton

[oryx]

Never got why people are so down on Starbucks.

Their coffee is shite, for starters.

ETA: Let's hear it for Dorking!

 

[Winot]

Coffee at McDonalds is brilliant. They have a computerised 'bean-to-cup' machine. There's none of the unnecessary performance you get in other coffee shops, and it's always quick and always perfect. If you can get over the embarrassment of being a grown adult in a McDonalds, then it's fine.

Also they have a buy-six-get-one-free offer.

Tis true that it takes a fucking long time to make a coffee proper barista-style. Get a few people ahead of you in the queue and only one person serving (like in Goodbench on Friday) and you are looking at 10 mins before your caffeine hit.

 

[twistedAM]

Coffee at McDonalds is brilliant. They have a computerised 'bean-to-cup' machine. There's none of the unnecessary performance you get in other coffee shops, and it's always quick and always perfect. If you can get over the embarrassment of being a grown adult in a McDonalds, then it's fine.

Also they have a buy-six-get-one-free offer.

That reminds me of that bloody Costa Coffee ad that's on TV at the moment. The one that says that monkeys might be able to replicate the complete works of Shakespeare if given time but they could never be a barista. Oh fuck off and do me a favour.

 

[editor]

Coffee at McDonalds is brilliant. They have a computerised 'bean-to-cup' machine. There's none of the unnecessary performance you get in other coffee shops, and it's always quick and always perfect.

0/10 for the stupid troll.

 

[twistedAM]

0/10 for the stupid troll.

It depends, if you want a straight black coffee (which is the only way I drink the stuff except for espresso) it might be OK. When i was driving up and down the interstates of the USA for a living I got a taste for Dunkin Donuts.
I;d rather buy independent (ie Adams Bakery, Brixton Hill) but i don't like the vibe of Sunday Supplement places with baristas.

 

[editor]

It depends, if you want a straight black coffee (which is the only way I drink the stuff except for espresso) it might be OK. When i was driving up and down the interstates of the USA for a living I got a taste for Dunkin Donuts.
I;d rather buy independent (ie Adams Bakery, Brixton Hill) but i don't like the vibe of Sunday Supplement places with baristas.

Yes, it might be 'OK.' But "brilliant"?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

A lot of people say the coffee in McDonalds is better than in Starbucks. Personally I've never tried either.

You'll never know, then.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

It's not just whether they serve better coffee or not (which apparently they don't) but it's the fact that starbucks don't operate on a level playing field. Their policy is to ignore planning rules such as 'change of use' for a unit in a prime location, knowing that a local authority will eventually back down because of legal costs. They break the law and know they can get away with it. Smaller businesses can't do that.

Ignoring zoning laws won't somehow force people to drink their shit coffee, though.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

At the end of the day, the anti starbucks crowd will just have to retain some hope and faith that the average citizens of London don't constitute a stupid herd of mindless zombies who will shuffle into a Starbucks, simply for the reason that it happens to be half a block closer, due to fiddled-with zoning laws.

You'll have to retain some hope and faith that people have minds of their own, and taste preferences of their own.

Because actually, to think otherwise is a bit on the condescending side.

 

[editor]

At the end of the day, the anti starbucks crowd will just have to retain some hope and faith that the average citizens of London don't constitute a stupid herd of mindless zombies who will shuffle into a Starbucks, simply for the reason that it happens to be half a block closer, due to fiddled-with zoning laws.

You'll have to retain some hope and faith that people have minds of their own, and taste preferences of their own.

Because actually, to think otherwise is a bit on the condescending side.

Some local geography. Brixton is a major transport hub, being at the southern end of the Victoria line. Every day, thousands of commuters catch buses into Brixton and then walk a very short distance to the tube station to continue their journey into central London.

Starbucks - with its vast resources - has managed to bag the kind of location that independents could only dream of, with their coffee bar positioned right by the steps to the tube.

With that kind of super-convenient prime location, of course people will use them.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Starbucks - with its vast resources - has managed to bag the kind of location that independents could only dream of, with their coffee bar positioned right by the steps to the tube.

With that kind of super-convenient prime location, of course people will use them.

Very likely true. Were there other well-patronized coffee shops within a couple of blocks of that location?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I looked at a map: how is Caffe Nero doing, for instance?

Cafe El Inca?

 

[editor]

I looked at a map: how is Caffe Nero doing, for instance?

Good to see you doing some research!

Caffe Nero is another major corporate outlet and it's located inside a clothes department store on the first floor opposite the tube.

 

[Laughing Toad]

Yes, it might be 'OK.' But "brilliant"?

I think OK and really fast is brilliant.

Anyway, all cultural tourists exagerate.

 

[leanderman]

Some local geography. Brixton is a major transport hub, being at the southern end of the Victoria line. Every day, thousands of commuters catch buses into Brixton and then walk a very short distance to the tube station to continue their journey into central London.

Starbucks - with its vast resources - has managed to bag the kind of location that independents could only dream of, with their coffee bar positioned right by the steps to the tube.

With that kind of super-convenient prime location, of course people will use them.

And, to my shame, I did use the station Starbucks this morning. The latte was unfinishably awful. I had not realised just how superior Federation and Goodbench were. A lesson learned.

 

[Andrew Hertford]

Ignoring zoning laws won't somehow force people to drink their shit coffee, though.

Sure, but if you anonymously nab a prime property in the middle of a town, on a market square for example, one that's already designated for retail usage and then ilegally covert it into a cafe, then you're going to have an unfair advantage over the other cafes in the area.

 

[PacificOcean]

Sure, but if you anonymously nab a prime property in the middle of a town, on a market square for example, one that's already designated for retail usage and then ilegally covert it into a cafe, then you're going to have an unfair advantage over the other cafes in the area.

So walk to find coffee? Bah!

Maybe this is why Starbucks is so popular?

Shell out for decent premises for more trade? (Don't forget they started out as a stall in Seattle).

Anyone with a marking degree agree with this?