Here in the NW, in their own home territory, they're few and and far between these days. There is way too much good coffee around for them to support being on every street corner like they used to be.
There is way too much good coffee around for them to support being on every street corner like they used to be.
Frankly, I don't know what they were thinking, the barrier to entry to get a good coffee shop going is a lot lower than say a restaurant or fast food joint. They don't need kitchens or seating areas or food stuff or even a big enough lot for a parking lot and I'd bet the margins for coffee are a lot bigger. It was never going to be very long before competitors were everywhere lol
I think it's just a combination at this stage. Something for everyone to hate about them.
They're anti-union. They're meme levels of expensive in an era of strapped cash. People are conscious of "local" business over something they know is a chain. Brand reputationn for low quality for the price has set in. And lastly people are aware of their stagnation. There's nothing "revolutionary" going on in the coffee industry to draw customers who have been turned off back to them. Even McShungles can draw people back to them with a special sale on something. Starbucks never does that I'm aware of (and if they do they're doing a shit job of advertising as evidenced by my lack of knowledge)