| The Palo Alto History Project |
| Starbucks in Palo Alto 276 University Avenue, 2000 El Camino Real, 2775 Middlefield Road, 180 El Camino Real, 4131 El Camino Real, 361 California Ave |
| 2006 |
| Starbucks Plays the Heavy Starbucks: Cozy latte lounge with cute siren logo or menacing corporate giant crushing Palo Alto’s homespun coffee houses? Well, opinions vary, but the fervor against Starbucks reached a fever pitch in 2005 when the city’s sixth edition of the franchise was rumored to be on its way to California Avenue. As a street and business district that prides itself on customer service and personal connections, many felt that it was no place for a company fast becoming the nation’s most notorious symbol of corporate domination not named Walmart. Indeed, Starbucks has gained a national reputation for aggressively targeting neighborhood coffeehouses and luring customers away until the local places shut down. In Palo Alto, many family-run cafes have come up against the Java Green Giant. For instance, after the Palo Alto Café helped lead Midtown’s Renaissance in the late 1990s and had established a loyal clientele, a Starbucks moved in just some 175 steps down the street---as calculated by one local measurer. And the Midtown coffee market was not exactly deserted with La Crème de Café and Café Sophia just a few blocks away. Similarly, California Avenue frequenters also had an array of places to get their morning buzz, including the popular and quirky Printer's Café, whose owners and frequenters blanched when they saw the rough-wood overhang and the forest-green trim being applied across the street. But while Palo Alto has not been able to resist corporate culture making some inroads in the city, Palo Alto shoppers are no slaves to corporate chains. Palo Altans clearly support mom and pop shops, whether they are successful coffee shops fighting Starbucks, local grocers like JJ&F taking on grocery giants in College Terrace, or Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagels winning a loyalty test against Noah’s bagel chain on California Ave in the late ‘90s. Of course, that’s not to say that the Mom & Pops always win in Palo Alto. The recently boarded- up Megabooks two doors down from Borders on University is just one Goliath victory among many others. But in general, Palo Alto locals are loyal to the personal touch that Mom & Pops bring to the neighborhood. They also enjoy the sense of community that is more likely to exist at a place like Printer’s Café or Café Sophia than at a chain with high turnover and detached low wage workers. There is also a desire for the originality and variation the little guys deliver. The same menu of espressos and cappuccinos that you will find in the six Palo Alto Starbucks locations match the focus-group tested menus you’ll find in New York, Texas, or Seattle. As one Palo Alto coffee drinker wrote about Starbucks , “I'd rather drink no coffee at all than having to put up with the exact same flavor for the rest of my life! Corporate takeover! Coffee nightmare!" Palo Alto has also shown their support for the little guy in the protests and petitions that have sprouted up in attempts to block Starbucks encroachment. In 2005, 273 people signed the "No to Starbucks on California Avenue" petition that read, “We the undersigned believe that opening a Starbucks store on California Avenue would be destroying the unique character of the street and would unfairly compete with the small businesses that provide for its diversity." While none of these protests have actually stopped a Starbucks from moving in, they certainly have drummed up some strong feelings. Petitioner comments ranged from the waggish (“We need another Starbucks like we need another hole in our heads!") to the irate: “Starbucks is a heinous and virulent cancer upon the United States.” While even the loyalists over at Palo Alto Cafe might say that is overstating the case a bit, it remains clear that the Palo Alto marketplace still gives the benefit of the doubt to the little guy. -Matt Bowling |
| Count the Starbucks... #1....California Avenue |
| #2.....Near the El Camino Triangle |
| #4.....In Midtown |
| #3.....At El Camino and Stanford |
| #6.....On University Ave. |
| The map below shows the six Starbucks locations in Palo Alto |
| #5.....At the Stanford Shopping Center |
| Sources: Palo Alto Times, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Historical Association |