By Alex Petersen
Across the globe, Starbucks cafes are spreading like viruses, infecting street corners, airports, universities, malls, bookstores, and any other place one would expect a cafe. What happened to the old fashioned, independent coffee shops?
Starbucks is the number one specialty coffee retailer in the world. If one does not like Starbucks coffee products, finding an alternative cafe can be a difficult task.
According to Expansion, a Spanish financial daily newspaper, there are over 13,000 global Starbucks cafes. Nine thousand are in the United States, and 4,000 more serve 38 other countries.
Starbucks CEO Jim Donald reported to Expansion that the company plans to expand and in the next ten years, Donald expects 40,000 new Starbucks cafes to be opening. This is an alarming rate of expansion.
Most people recognize that culture is being sucked up by our mass corporate society. The world is quickly moving to uniformity as these large corporations take over different industries. Coffee shops are victims of this same threat.
In fact, Starbucks leading competitors aren’t even specializing in the coffee business. These competitors include Dunkin’ Donuts, Nestle, and Tim Hortons. Local coffee shops don’t have a chance.
Local cafes such as the Old Louisville Coffee Shop and Heine Brothers’ Coffee have there own cultural identity. Different quirks make it unique – decor, coffee mugs, furnishings. These little shops burst with creativity.
They are often the homes of local art, local band shows, and poetry readings. They unite people with common intellectual thinking, life-styles, cultural backgrounds, and education. Every coffee shop is special.
People go to cafes not just to buy coffee and pastries; they seek a certain atmosphere and experience. Maybe they want to read a good book, work on their laptops, play chess, people watch, or just sit in solitude.
There is a sense of independence and pride that comes from going to a coffee shop. This involves discovering the habitual cafe and routine order that is right for you. The act of going to a coffee shop is about being unique.
But as Starbucks takes over the world, coffee shop cultures are lost. Everyone experiences the same atmosphere and consumes the same products. People hardly have a choice in what coffee shop to go to.
The Starbucks logo is not just a symbol on a cup. It’s a style we “wear.”
There are underlying messages associated with “wearing” Starbucks. It suggests conformity. Someone with a Starbucks cup appears “normal.” Similarly, the cup suggests routine, safety, and predictability.
In addition, Starbucks insinuates a certain amount of wealth and security. The logo can be associated with higher levels of intellectual thinking, responsibility, and work.
Not surprising, Starbucks has also met America’s high standards for low nutritional value.
Their coffee and pastry products are incredibly unhealthy. The White Hot Chocolate, for example, has more calories than a McDonald’s Big Mac.
The Starbucks virus is spreading across the entire globe, not just changing the way we drink coffee, but how we live. Before we know it, coffee will be Starbucks.
People should embrace the small, lively, independent coffee shops because it’s only a matter of time before Starbucks takes over the world.
Alex Petersen is a junior majoring in music therapy. E-mail her at opinion@louisvillecardinal.com.
