Caffeination Saturation STARBUCKS ENTERS THE CORNER BREW-HAHA by Sean Kennedy photo by Sapna Shenoy The gourmet coffee industry has exploded in recent years as coffee bars, shops, and houses have turned coffee into a trend, making the simple caffeinated drink into one of the few uncontested icons of the 1990s. According to recent figures, there were 463 coffee outlets in the country in 1991, but by the middle of 1996, there were 5,425 -- an increase of more than 1,000%. Starbucks, the nation's largest coffee chain, largely has caused that surge. The Seattle-based company currently owns more than 1,030 stores; through the third quarter of fiscal year 1997, Starbucks had profits of $38.65 million, with sales for that same period of $696.25 million, a 39% increase from the previous year. In most metropolitan areas, including Northern Virginia, where many U.Va. students hail from, it's almost impossible to escape the name. Now Charlottesville, too, finds itself face to face with Starbucks. Two weeks ago, the company opened a store in the old Arnette's building on the Corner, bringing the total number of options for coffee drinkers to four in that vicinity, including Espresso Corner, Higher Grounds, and Espresso Royale Caffe (not to mention the specialty coffees offered at Cafe Europa, Chesapeake Bagel Bakery, and, presumably, the soon-to-be-opened Bodo's). If the Corner is beginning to look like Seattle -- perhaps the most developed coffee market in the country -- it's no coincidence: each of the four stores has some connection to the city that started the coffee craze. But can this small strip of land support multiple coffee shops as the much-larger Seattle does, or did the Corner coffee war begin with the first latté sold by Starbucks? The manager of Starbucks maintains that the company never intends to drive anyone out of business when it opens a new store. "It's certainly not Starbucks's intention, and not Starbucks' desire, to go in and drive out other coffee merchants," said Suzy Greene. "I'm 100% in favor of people being able to choose and to have the options to go wherever they please," she added, referring to how different the four shops are. Indeed, Espresso Corner and Higher Grounds are quite different from Starbucks, although Espresso Royale Caffe (whose owner-managers were unavailable for comment for this story) bears a striking resemblance. Greene also mentioned that one of the main reasons Starbucks decided to come to Charlottesville was that many area residents had its coffee shipped directly to them, so there was already a market here. John Martin, however, the manager of Espresso Corner, considers Starbucks a "corporate bully," likening the company to a cat waiting for a mouse. In fact, Martin decries the arrival of all national franchises: "The city of Charlottesville failed the independent merchants on the Corner by allowing major corporations to come here," he said, because they make it harder for those merchants to fare economically. Espresso Corner was founded three years ago by local resident Sally Johnston, and the coffeehouse has since blossomed into a home away from home for many U.Va. students and other customers. That's the reason, Martin said, that he's confident his store will do fine even with the additional competition from Starbucks. This past summer, though, Johnston opened a second coffeehouse in Blacksburg, in part to serve as a buffer against any potential fall-off of business at the Charlottesville location. But Martin asserts that Espresso Corner wants "to demonstrate that private entrepreneurs can still survive in Charlottesville." As far as Starbucks is concerned, "Welcome to Charlottesville," said Joe Trager, one of the owners of Higher Grounds. The local chain sells its coffee at four locations in Charlottesville, including a small take-out place next to Arch's on the Corner. "I have no problem with Starbucks," he said. "Competition is a good thing." In fact, he said, one of the reasons he chose to set up shop in this area was Starbucks' imminent arrival years ago to the mid-Atlantic region--if its market research indicated that this part of the country would be good for business, then it would be good for Trager and Higher Grounds, too. Although it's still too early to know what will happen on the Corner, initial speculation suggests that all four coffee spots might actually survive in the long run. "I have long suspected that the coffee-drinking market here has been very undeveloped," said Brad Brown, U.Va. Associate Professor of Commerce, although he did concede that there could be a "shakeout" of the shops, pointing to the closing over the summer of the Greenberry's branch on Elliewood Ave. (Greenberry's has since relocated to the foyer of Alderman Library.) Brown emphasized that each of the four places has its own atmosphere and will probably develop its own loyal following of customers; indeed, Higher Grounds and Espresso Corner both have fierce contingents of supporters already because they've been here the longest. "I always go to Espresso Corner," said third year Reza Bahar. "I like the atmosphere, I like the people, I have a lot of friends who go there all the time." He added that you can smoke there, which is not allowed at any of the other coffee shops, and that you can keep a tab or take a nap. Lena Tashjian agreed. "My heart's still with Espresso Corner," said the third year, because she's been going there as long as she's been going to U.Va. Second year Elienne Lawson and third year Kimberly Dixon, however, express allegiance to Higher Grounds. Both said they like its coffee the best, although Dixon likes Starbucks too. Still others, like fourth year Tom Torawski, prefer to patronize more than one shop, taking full advantage of their different environments. Consumers like Torawski will help all the stores survive. In the end, of course, the respective fates of Starbucks, Espresso Corner, Espresso Royale Caffe, and Higher Grounds rest in the hands of us students -- and depends on whose coffee we hold in those hands.

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