posted 07/16/09 07:27 AM | updated 07/16/09 07:32 AM
Views: 1850 | Comments : 34 | News, etc.

SBUX is to Victrola as the Seattle Times is to CHS?

By Andrew Taylor
Recommend this (+1 votes) ( report abuse ) ( add your comment )

Front page story in today's Seattle Times: Starbucks on 15th is reopening soon as "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea". Didn't we hear that news around here on CHS, say back in June?

Somewhat ironic that the Seattle Times article also reports that Starbucks executives was snooping on (and emulating) local businesses:

Victrola Coffee Roasters saw the Starbucks people a lot more often.

"They spent the last 12 months in our store up on 15th [Avenue] with these obnoxious folders that said, 'Observation,' " said Victrola owner Dan Ollis.

He thinks it's interesting that they spent all that time in his shop, which serves wine and beer, then applied for a liquor license to sell wine and beer at 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea.

Can we expect the Seattle Times to start getting more like CHS soon?

Tags: + add tags
savecancel
Add Your Comment(34)
Add Your Comment
Name:
Email:
(will not be displayed)
Subject:
Comment:
or

CommentsRSS Feed
No 'observation folders'
Haven't noticed anybody with observation folders around CHS HQ. Yet...

Though I also never noticed the SBUX crowd in Victrola and spend enough time there that I probably should have.
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: No 'observation folders'
My wife reports seeing people sitting outside Victrola with printed-out spreadsheets on clipboards a couple of times recently when walking past at dinnertime.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
eh
it's interesting that "we heard the news" in CHS comments rather than in a CHS post. And the bit about the clipboards in the Times seems like a pretty good get. Such a rich tapestry, this internet -- media news ecoverse of ours.
Comment by josh
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: eh
Not sure why the downvote here but that was also on my mind as I read Andrew's post. I'm happy open sourcing the news. It's a ding some of the old schoolers will have against CHS and form definitely follows function but I think it's cool that this story was reported 'first' by the crowd here at CHS. Nice work.
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: not a ding
it's fascinating that they way that the story developed on CHS was in response to an inaccurate post, showing the benefits of a strong commenting community.

that said, the times *did* substantially enhance the story beyond what was in either the body of the post or the informative follow-up comments; so I don't really see the need to smack them for being a bit late to the party.
Comment by josh
6 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
um, sorry, no
Pretty sure that in this comparison CHS is me making coffee at home. The Seattle Times is a local business, so as much as it breaks my heart to have to admit this, Starbucks would seemingly have to represent my beloved New York Times...
Comment by yancy
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: um, sorry, no
Making coffee at home that you share with friends. That's nice.
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: um, sorry, no
Exactly, j! Well said.
Comment by yancy
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
That's craptastic
They're going to be a stealth-Starbucks with a fake name?! That's some bullshit right there.
Comment by Uncle Vinny
6 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
Just a little weird
I understand rebranding, but this is a little weird. Cap Hill folks are fairly sophisticated consumers - it's not like we won't know its just Starbucks in an indy t-shirt. This might be a good thing if Sbux uses their 15th store to pilot new eco-friendly products, but otherwise....just odd.
Comment by Comrade Bunny
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
interesting
this should be a really interesting case-study; starbucks & victrola co-existed pretty nicely. wonder how the die-hards who wanted to save 15th Starbucks will warm to "15th Ave Coffee & Tea".
Comment by josh
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: interesting
Yeah, those people were obviously looking for generic Starbucks fare than would walk a block for actual espresso.
Comment by maus
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
A Starbucks by any other name?
I doubt that the reincarnation is still a corporate-sponsored SBUX but with a different name. Branding don't work that way, especially for Starbucks. I'm theorizing that the shop was a franchise location, and that the owner is separating from Starbucks but continuing to do coffee.

All that aside, being so very obvious in spying on Victrola is in poor taste.
Comment by EmilyP
6 months ago
( --1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: A Starbucks by any other name?
Of course Starbucks does not and has no plan to franchise.
Comment by mw
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: A Starbucks by any other name?
The wonderful things about newspapers (no offense, j :) ) is that their stories are nice & thorough and easily clear up this sort of confusion.
Comment by yancy
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: A Starbucks by any other name?
Whoops, I forgot to read the article. Thanks yancy, I deserved that.
Comment by EmilyP
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
... and ... is the coffee shop supply in peril?
As one who likes my own brew served cold - coffee shops are for hanging and laptops ... and had not noticed a lack of supply.

Glad to see the space not left empty and some jobs created. Might pop in and order cold coffee from yesterday, with the haze on the top.

15th by the way - seems more alive than Broadway these days. Assets include a small and user friendly QFC, Walgreens and Coastal and other OK eating spots ... and no giant construction zone.
Comment by Mike with curls
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: ... and ... is the coffee shop supply in peril?
The Walgreen's on 15th is like a little piece of suburbia in the city. Yuck. It's a monument to people not staying on top of the design review process (contrast that with the next Walgreen's to show up in the neighborhood). And it replaced City People's, which was a real asset in the neighborhood.
Comment by Phil Mocek
6 months ago
( --2 votes ) Recommend this
RE: ... and ... is the coffee shop supply in peril?
Walgren's on 15th snuck by in part because it was a "remodel": as I recall it kept the requisite "2 walls" that counted it as a remodel. The design was vigorously opposed by the adjacent neighbors and the Capitol Hill Community Council. The concessions they got were:

a) the mural (whoopy-doo)
b) no drive-up pharmacy window in the alley
c) NO big free standing large big LED sign on a big pole in the parking lot. I believe you can still see the patch in the parking lot where that was going.

The greatest value of the fight was that it alerted the community to Walgren's standard cookie-cutter design, so when they proposed one for Broadway, people leapt all over them. And the rest is history...
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
No need to worry
Victrola and Ladro don't need to worry Starbucks has been there for a long time. David Schoomer says that if you want to open a sucessful coffee shop open across from a Starbucks. David knows more about coffee than 99.9% of the coffee shop owners around. People are sophisticated enough to know a Starbucks is a Starbucks.

Really I'm more bummed by Sound Transit destroying the beautiful Vivace Rosteria on Denny than Starbucks trying to not be Starbucks.
Comment by Bubbamike
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
15th Ave Coffee & Tea ideas
My wife and I came up with these over lunch. Please steal them and post your own.

1. Go into 15th Ave Coffee & Tea. Tell the employees loudly about how you're so glad they opened and did they know this place used to be a Starbucks?

2. Buy Starbucks drink at Safeway across the street. Bring it over to 15th Ave Coffee & Tea and drink it at the sidewalk tables or inside. If you get kicked out, post on your blog about how you got kicked out of Starbucks for drinking Starbucks.

3. Go in with a clipboard with a pirate flag on the back. Scribble notes conspicuously. When asked, say you are thinking of opening your own independent coffeehouse and you heard this one is the best.

4. Get totally smashed on adult beverages. Kick over a trash can. Write letter to Starbucks about drunks wandering out of their new cafe and messing up your neighborhood.

It's too bad no one in this neighborhood has an arch hipster sense of humor and therefore none of these thing will actually happen. :)
Comment by Matthew Amster-Burton
6 months ago
( --1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: 15th Ave Coffee & Tea ideas
Or you could just not spend your money there and let the hospital crowd keep it alive.
Comment by maus
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Yes, but now more than a handful of people know about it...
So you're taking credit, not for breaking the news, but for having a commenter who mentioned it? The fact that you never followed up on it until the Times ran its story is pretty telling.
Comment by bigyaz
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: Yes, but now more than a handful of people know about it...
I think Andrew was just having some fun with the juxtaposition. Times definitely got the story.

We did follow on the original post and comments, btw:
Starbucks on 15th Will Reopen (hereupon the Zombie Starbucks)
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2009/06/12/starbucks-on-15

But we also didn't get the Times story details nor cooperation from SBUX.
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( +3 votes ) Recommend this
RE: Yes, but now more than a handful of people know about it...
And one more thing. Yeah, I guess we are kind of taking credit for having good information in the comments!
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
Always gonna be starbucks
Their packaging also changed to look a lot like ours at Stumptown, and they seemed to all of a sudden start caring about origins and coffee growing conditions and specifics. But their coffee will always suck, no matter the packaging or hiding behind a different name, or even buying out Clover.
Comment by Sera
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Slog: Linda Derschang vs SBUX
Uh Oh. Now you're in trouble:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/16/linda-d

"They have been in Smith almost daily. I can't believe that anyone, whether a hair salon or a coffee chain, would just go ahead and knock off their next door neighbor's exterior... We'll see what the rest of the design looks like as they get ready to open next week."
Comment by jseattle
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
new name doesn't mean unbranded
There seems to be an assumption going around that naming the store "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea" means it will be stealth.

I imagine it will look like the 1st & Pike store (which already has subdued signage) with the new name. And still be branded Starbucks quite openly, on cups, merchandise, and probably even the siren logo on signage.

It's just a Starbucks with an official nickname.
Comment by gerwitz
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: new name doesn't mean unbranded
Well, I certainly was wrong: http://www.streetlevelcoffee.com/
Comment by gerwitz
6 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
branding
This reminds me of this Mexican restaurant on Bainbridge Island that has a sign out front that reads "Isla Bonita." You walk in, sit down, and then hand you an Azteca menu ... because it's an Azteca. But they can't call it that thanks to Island franchise laws.

It's weird because all the research, remodeling, etc, has to cost a FORTUNE. Starbucks was considering *closing* the shop, and instead are investing all this money in it? Very odd.

And finally: I thought the Starbucks sign was what kept this place in business ... ie, exhausted folks wander up 15th from Group Health and see a sign for nice safe corporate coffee. Then they stop there before they reach Victrola or Ladro. It's interesting that they're bailing on the "security blanket" corporate brand in lieu of trying to lure in locals.
Comment by Arielmeadow
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
LINDA!
Oh good something I care about. I could care lss about people's useless angst and rage against Starbucks. It's like college extended. Now Linda's... There we go. Linda's is not a tavern and Smith is pretentious. DISCUSS!
Comment by TroyJMorris
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: LINDA!
"Linda's is not a tavern"

Duh.

"and Smith is pretentious"

It's a place to get okay pub food and booze and a decent jukebox, what the fuck are you expecting? Perhaps you got lost on the way to Applebees, but I have no clue what is pretentious about a nicely styled non-dive bar. If you're looking for cheaper fare, there are plenty of places around, but the waitstaff is really nice and the people there are generally friendly. Whenever I sit at the longer table, people usually at least acknowledge your presence and occasionally chat with you.
Comment by maus
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Re: Branding
According to the Dow Jones Newswires, Starbucks will be "scrubbing its name" from the new place: "Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) is scrubbing its name from a Seattle location in favor of the store's street address in a test that could sprout more stores that seem more like the corner coffee shop rather than the global coffee giant." Apparently even bagged coffee will be sold under the store's new name with no mention of S'bucks.
Comment by Emily
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Dow Jones article
http://tinyurl.com/mjf22d
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
advertisement