Comment 35489

By geoff's two cents (anonymous) | Posted November 15, 2009 at 20:08:59

I'll take Starbucks over Tim Hortons (mediocre coffee) or Second Cup (talk about coffee with attitude! - at least in Westdale) any day. As for the long term effect on small businesses, I'll believe it when I see it. Then again, I live in a city with a Starbucks on virtually every corner, yet a plethora of very successful small businesses, including local competing coffee and dessert destinations. The business is actually quite unique in its ability to brand a neighborhood as a cafe-type destination, encouraging people to linger awhile on patios and in front of shop windows, something that benefits everyone, employers, employees and consumers alike. My one quibble would be that not all of their products are organic or fair trade; then again, the neighborhood branding Starbucks makes possible opens up a niche to be filled by a more ethics-conscious coffee business.

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