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Starbucks coming to Brixton

I will continue to go to Opus, Rosie's or Lounge depending on what exactly I am after in terms of food and drink, comfort, meeting space, relaxing ambience or location. Starbucks doesn't compete for my needs on any of those bases.
 
I don't think I've been to the Opus on Brighton Terrace. When did it open up?
Anyone fancy posting up a quick review?
 
It's just a window really in that courtyard where all the design agencies are clustered, by the doc's. Been there about a year i think?

Nice lattes, lovely staff. erm, thats it ;) (i shoulda been a journo)
 
Not been to Opus yet either.

There's also the new(ish) Lori's coffee window stall in the shop next to McD's on the high road who does great (and relatively cheap) coffee - there's another thread about it somewhere I think - and of course the mighty San Marino's.
 
editor said:
I don't think I've been to the Opus on Brighton Terrace. When did it open up?
Anyone fancy posting up a quick review?
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Very good toasties and delicious thick hot chocolate. Closes early in the afternoon, probably not so busy once lunch is over.
 
editor said:
Well, show us some examples of the company indulging in dodgy anti-competitive practices, breaking the planning laws and using their corporate muscle to force out independents and we can have the argument.
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But it's been proven over and over that independent's don't get forced out.



The attitude here can be paraphrased thus: 'I don't like it; therefore, neither should you. And if I had my way, you wouldn't even be able to buy it anywhere close'.
 
tarannau said:
Remarkably I agree with Teuchter. I can't say I've said a word about H&M's arrival tbh, let alone greeted them with 'universal approval.'

I'm unsure to what point ChrisS is trying to argue here. There's seems little relevance, imo, between comparing a coffee shop and a whopping clothing store, particularly given the lack of an independent sector competing with H&M around here. Nor does H&M really have the same track record of targeting and deliberately cannibalising local competitors. :
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The cannibalizing happens through the economic power allowing them to sell more cheaply than a small independent, plus offer greater variety. It's always that way with any large corporation. Small independents survive by creating and serving a niche market, and by providing exemplary service.
 
Of course independents get forced out by large corporations, you only have to look at any high street in Britain to see that. Maybe Canadia is different, although I doubt it.

Johnny Canuck, you talk shit.
 
oh no

I was pleased when H&M came to Brixton but am depressed & distressed about Starbucks - can't get over seeing it as American imperialism, even if the coffee is now finally fair trade - why couldn't we have an independent coffee shop next to the tube? I suppose they can't afford the exorbitant rent. I pledge not to go in there and keep using Funchal or Phoenix.
Thanks Urban for letting me know
PS Granville Arcade on a Thursday evening is great
 
Opus has brilliant cakes - not sure if they are made by Opus, but they are definitely independently produced, not mass packaged over sweet muffins like you get in Starbucks and Nero. The one on Brighton Terrace is geared to takeaways or those wearing warm coats - there is a nice little seating area made fom railway sleeper type wood. Very good coffee and hot choc.
 
I was pleased when H&M came to Brixton but am depressed & distressed about Starbucks - can't get over seeing it as American imperialism
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As opposed to Swedish imperialism, I guess.

This thread is full of largely predictable replies, but it's good for the lulz. I don't recall the same panic when Nero's opened in Morleys, and that's as much of a chain as 'Bucks is (altho they do better coffee).

Thread iz funnee.
 
I get the objection to Starbucks' business practices but I'm not sure I understand the argument about 'blandification' on the high street.

From its junction with Atlantic Road to Coldhardbour Lane, Brixton High Street's offering is hardly quirky and unique. M&S, Bodyshop, Sainsbury's Local, 3 branded mobile phone shops, Iceland, Barclays, HSBC, JBSports, something or other sports, Boots, Superdrug, KFC, McDs, Subway, Poundland (a £200million chain), Natwest, WHSmiths, Haart, Specsavers, Claire's Accessories (or maybe that's gone?). Like them or not, they are hardly unique. Surely Starbucks cannot make the spread of shops any more bland.

I would even argue that, given the huge concentration of high street shops, even a really quirky independent coffee shop would fail to make the high street any more interesting as a whole. It is what lies behind the High Street that gives Brixton its character. I don't love Starbucks and will be unlikely to ever buy a coffee from them in Brixton but I can't get excited either way about their arrival. I could be wrong but I doubt that we will see the decent local coffee business suffer.
 
Rushy said:
I get the objection to Starbucks' business practices but I'm not sure I understand the argument about 'blandification' on the high street.

From its junction with Atlantic Road to Coldhardbour Lane, Brixton High Street's offering is hardly quirky and unique. M&S, Bodyshop, Sainsbury's Local, 3 branded mobile phone shops, Iceland, Barclays, HSBC, JBSports, something or other sports, Boots, Superdrug, KFC, McDs, Subway, Poundland (a £200million chain), Natwest, WHSmiths, Haart, Specsavers, Claire's Accessories (or maybe that's gone?). Like them or not, they are hardly unique. Surely Starbucks cannot make the spread of shops any more bland.

I would even argue that, given the huge concentration of high street shops, even a really quirky independent coffee shop would fail to make the high street any more interesting as a whole. It is what lies behind the High Street that gives Brixton its character. I don't love Starbucks and will be unlikely to ever buy a coffee from them in Brixton but I can't get excited either way about their arrival. I could be wrong but I doubt that we will see the decent local coffee business suffer.
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My guess is that Starbucks will sell lots of Frappucinos etc to people who don't really like coffee and wouldn't frequent the likes of Federation Coffee anyway.
 
Rushy said:
I get the objection to Starbucks' business practices but I'm not sure I understand the argument about 'blandification' on the high street.

From its junction with Atlantic Road to Coldhardbour Lane, Brixton High Street's offering is hardly quirky and unique. M&S, Bodyshop, Sainsbury's Local, 3 branded mobile phone shops, Iceland, Barclays, HSBC, JBSports, something or other sports, Boots, Superdrug, KFC, McDs, Subway, Poundland (a £200million chain), Natwest, WHSmiths, Haart, Specsavers, Claire's Accessories (or maybe that's gone?). Like them or not, they are hardly unique. Surely Starbucks cannot make the spread of shops any more bland.
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All the more reason to be disappointed at yet another faceless corporate presence, no?
 
editor said:
All the more reason to be disappointed at yet another faceless corporate presence, no?
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I don't think so. My point is that Brixton High Street is full of High Street shops like any other high street. It is not sexy but it serves the everyday shopping needs for quite a large catchment area for whom it is the main shopping area. Whatever its pros and cons, it is what it is because that's what the majority of the population use it for.

Brixton has a lot of things which make it unique. The High Street is not one of them. It is already a sea of faceless corporations and in truth has been for a long long time. The arrival of Starbucks won't change it. If we had a high street full of local butchers and bakers etc.., or if Starbucks was opening up in one of the arcades, I think it would be cause for concern, disappointment and protest. But I was never expecting some quirky little store to pop up next to the tube, and if it had I think it unlikely that it would have much impact on the bland corporate character of the High Street. So I am not disappointed. And even perhaps slightly pleased that there is one less empty unit.

I'm far more bothered by the fact that Sainsbury's and WH Smiths leave the units above their stores empty and dirty, making the high street feel more neglected than it needs to.
 
Rushy said:
I'm far more bothered by the fact that Sainsbury's and WH Smiths leave the units above their stores empty and dirty, making the high street feel more neglected than it needs to.
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But that's exactly the kind of practices you get with corporates whose sole motivation is making money. An independent concern would almost certainly have made use of that precious space.
 
Does anyone actually know why the upstairs of the Sainsbury/WHS lets are unused? I thought Sainsbury were using it as cage storage space...and contrary to what ed seems to think, grasping evil capitalists, especially retailers, tend to want to utilise every square inch of the space they're paying for equally, if not more, than 'independent concerns'.
 
editor said:
But that's exactly the kind of practices you get with corporates whose sole motivation is making money. An independent concern would almost certainly have made use of that precious space.
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Hmm - I think you have a fairly romantic view of the independent retailer.

Not all independent retailers are aesthetes or even particularly interested in or motivated by their local environment. Just look at how crap so many of the little independent convenience stores look. At the end of the day, even the few who are not in it specifically for the money have a bottom line and will decide where they can make savings.

You only have to look at the building upstairs from San Marinos - one of my favourite cafes and a business which I think seems pretty well run on the whole - for a local example of a beautiful building, which could be an asset to our area, not being properly utilised or looked after and giving an impression of dereliction.

As for Sainsbury's and WHS - I have been meaning to pen a letter to their management and the Town Centre team for some time now but usually get distracted by something more interesting (such as the pub). Must actually get on and do this some time.
 
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