Driving by the Westgate Shopping center today I could not help but notice the line of cars at the Starbucks all queued up and with customer all waiting for their java.
This in spite of the road blocks our Economic Development leadership threw up to block the renovation of the plaza.
It always has struck me as ironic that a Mayor try to block retail businesses such as, drug stores, as he claimed he did not want one on every corner.
I guess it would be better to have vacant lots, boarded up buildings and more decay instead.
I was at Beaners at Cricket West last week and heard several of the workers talking about how they are worried about how much business is going from Beaners to the new Starbucks.
I hope the national Starbucks doesn't drive out the more local Beaners.
Beaners makes better vanilla iced latte's too!
You know, I feel guilty because I used to be a devoted Beaner's drinker. However, once the drive-thru Starbuck's opened, my lazy butt started going there :(
That coffee queue is just temporary. You'll just have to wait a bit for the real reaction. Once you see the horrible, awful layout in its final form that our wise and foresightful Mayor Carleton Finkbeiner was opposed to, most people will avoid Westgate from such eclectic disgust.
If only the terrible developers simply took orders from our wise and insightful political leadership! We'd have a Westgate that would be a jewel of Western Civilization, to be sure.
This is why we need to move away from a "strong mayor" system and adopt the "strongest mayor" system, where all departments of city government are simply run by the mayor alone, who is elected for life. This will also save on employees and other overhead expenses, since the "strongest mayor" replaces the city council, all department heads, and city magistrates.
We'd still need all of Government Center, of course. Why, just the top 3 floors would be needed for the throne.
P.S. Remember, Carty Gets Results
Kind of ironic that one of the few 'results' we've seen in this administration isnt because of Carty, but rather in spite of Carty...
Last fall, the Cosmos coffee shop in downtown Bowling Green went out of business, months after a Starbucks with a drive-thru opened out by the BG campus. The Cosmos employees thought that Starbucks was too far away to hurt Cosmos's business. But what Cosmos didn't realize was that it had a lot of customers coming off of I-75. The drive-thru Starbucks intercepted them. At least that's what a Cosmo worker told me.
Oct 16, 2006 BG Newsarticle:
Prior to 2003, Cosmos' revenue had started to decline. When Starbucks opened in the Union, Cosmos' revenue fell 15 to 20 percent. After a second Starbucks opened in Kroger, the revenue dropped another 10 percent. Bowling Green's third Starbucks was built on Wooster Street. Cosmos' revenue plummeted and Sader knew he and his partners could not support Cosmos anymore.
Standalone Starbucks stores now exist in Westgate and on Talmadge by the Westfield mall. In-store Starbucks exist at Barnes and Noble on Monroe, and I think at the Kroger on Monroe by Best Buy. And I believe the Westfield mall has one or two Starbucks. That area is becoming polluted with Starbucks.
Starbucks is the Wal-Mart of coffee shops.
I love Starbucks. I usually make coffee at home, but I am so glad to have them around when I need the strongest cup of joe known to man.
If Starbucks is winning over customers doesn't that mean customers are happier? And isn't that a good thing? I never have understood the "anti-anything local" argument. If Starbucks doesn't match up with Beaners then people won't go. Either way, the customer is just as happy or happier than before. I continue to go to Beaners because I use their coupons they e-mail out and can get a grande cup of coffee for 70 cents.
i live near westgate and i have to say i'm happy with the redevelopment. i can't wait until costco is open for business.
anyhow, there have been a few negative "letters to the editor" posted in the blade of late. they all cried about the looks and designed. i think those people need to relax. wait until the project is done and wait for better weather so they can address landscaping.
i also look forward to the redevelopment of the land north of central.
The two biggest coffee drinkers in my family would heartily agree.
They are die-hard Speedway/Sterling patrons who have the wherewithal to patronize whomever they please, and since they drink COFFEE, and not cappa-mocha-cocoa-whatever, Starbucks has little attraction for them.
On rare occasion, I do enjoy a Starbucks WTF drink that's basically a coffee milkshake, but for the 2-3X per year I get one, I can do without em.
And this model should be followed on all levels of government. "They" know best, of course. We are simple, lower lifeforms and cannot understand the complexities of modern life and government. Don't ask questions, but just follow orders. Just keep paying the always increasing taxes demanded of you.
over-rated shit. But then, I prefer strong dark expresso-type coffee
to the yuppie candy flavored sugary stuff.
I'll always buy local if I can.
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In World War 2 we fought (and defeated) the Axis. Today we're afraid of cellphones, smokers, and cheeseburgers. It's about at the end, people.
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"When I say your dumb name, please stand up briefly, but then quickly drop to your knees and forsake all others before me." -Ignignokt