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9.21.04
Starbucks: Weed in Manhattan
By Sarah Stodola
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Already when I came to New York for the first time at the age of 21 for a summer internship, there were two Starbucks flanking Astor Place. Which is to say that even in 1998, Starbucks had staked its claim as the dandelion of New York City business establishments; no matter how much you complained or tried to buy coffee elsewhere, there were still these multiplying coffee shops that all looked and smelled pretty much exactly the same. And while they weren’t completely ugly, they weren’t exactly the lilies of the coffee shop world, either. Just like dandelions.
However, back then, there were, I know it, I remember it; there were other coffee shops. And I’m not speaking of the local guys, although I wish I were. Those still exist, albeit I’m sure in smaller number than a decade ago (and they exist mostly downtown or in Brooklyn). I’m talking about these chains that I know existed – Timothy’s and New World Coffee, to name the two most prominent (Xando was a competitor initially, but quickly merged with Cosi and became more of a restaurant than a coffee shop). There was once a New World Coffee somewhere on Broadway in Soho, I can’t remember the exact cross street, that I used to frequent during afternoons of shopping. There was a Timothy’s on the Upper West Side. And they existed in many other places throughout Manhattan, as well, not as numerous as Starbucks, but realistic competitors, at any rate, like Apple to Microsoft.
Now, however, it seems to be Starbucks or nothing when you are in the mood for that double-iced-skim-vanilla cappuccino.
So where have these other coffee franchises gone? I consulted the only real sources worth consulting these days, and Google and Citysearch returned the following information:
According
to what seems to be New World Coffee’s (relatively primitive) website,
there are still six locations in Manhattan. According to Citysearch, there
are 10. So it isn’t completely dead yet, although I can’t
remember having seen one in the last couple of years (while there are
three Starbucks within a block of me as I write this).
Timothy’s Coffee is a little more confusing. According to the its website, “Timothy’s World Coffee” only exists in Canada. They would have you think it’s the Starbucks of Canada, in fact, and maybe it is, who knows. Although when I last traveled to Canada, Toronto to be exact, I went to Starbucks twice, so Timothy’s certainly doesn’t have the market cornered. It does have Continental Airlines cornered, though. – being the “exclusive” provider of coffee to the airline.
According
to Citysearch, there are five Timothy’s in Manhattan (although one
is called “Timothy’s World Coffee,” three are called
“Timothy’s Coffees of the World,” and one is just Timothy’s
Coffees).
So how can there be Timothy’s locations in Manhattan when according to the website the franchises only exist in Canada? Who knows, but my theory is that Timothy’s dipped its toe in the U.S. market, then got cold feet when it realized just how pervasive and popular Starbucks was. Perhaps the existing Timothy’s stole the name? Perhaps they were once franchises but now they’re just independent coffee shops? (Is that even possible, legally?)
Regardless of the cause or of technicalities, it seems safe to say that Timothy’s World Coffee, the big franchise, does not exist in New York these days, even though I’m fairly certain that it once did. And while New World Coffee is still hanging on by a thread, it barely induces a blip in the Starbucks Empire’s radar.
So with the aspiring competitors all but gone, let’s turn to Starbucks. What exactly is it that allowed it to crush these other, for most intensive purposes very similar lines of coffee shops (even their logos are similar)?
Well,
for one, Starbucks may have simply received a lucky break by expanding
at the same time that grunge music put Seattle on the cultural map. Things
from Seattle were cool for a while there, and Starbucks fell under that
bubble. They also got lucky in that as the 1990’s produced a whole
bunch of young people with money to burn, it became feasible to charge
nearly $5 for a large coffee drink. Maybe they just had better marketing
(uh, yeah, the New World Coffee site sucks, so if that’s any indication…);
it’s big business, after all, and so not really so much about coffee
anymore.
But anyway, Starbucks won. And they won big.
The thing is, I hate Starbucks simply because I hate most things that strip cities of their uniqueness. But…I still go there. And the reason I still go there is because they are consistent. I can always get what I need there. I have never once gone to a Starbucks and heard the words, “Oh sorry, we’re out of that right now.” At the local coffee shop by my apartment, I hear that roughly 50% of times I order a coffee drink. I still frequent my local place, but if I’m in desperate need of a powerful and good coffee drink, I’ll opt for Starbucks, simply because I can’t take a chance just then.
But anyway, even though Starbucks did win, it seems important, for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, to remember that just a few years back the landscape was not quite so green and ladylike as it is now. There were challengers. And now those challengers have been driven right out of town. Just like a dandelion left to its own devices, Starbucks multiplied and spread and killed off other, sometimes more desired varieties. Viva la monopoly.
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Sarah Stodola is the Managing Editor of Me Three. She can be contacted here.
©
2004 Me Three