[Photo from June by by Nora Balaban]
Back in June, people start noticing that the Starbucks sign on Second Avenue at East Ninth Street was missing something …
Now, almost just a short six months later… Starbucks is finally replacing the bulbs, as Slum Goddess noted this evening…
7 comments:
DARN! I thought this was a post about them closing that location….
They're on a roll! They recently fixed the broken door too. It only took two years. They must be hurting for cash.
Starbucks has also recently removed whole milk from the service counters, now you have to ask for it which they hide behind the counter. They only have Skim and Half and Half out on the counters, apparently people were just drinking the whole milk or putting it on their cereal, or maybe Starbucks is just cheap.
The Starbucks formula: No bathrooms + No whole milk + Fewer tables = higher stock price + unhappy customers.
Go Starbucks. You are doing everything right. These losers are jus JEALOUS of your SUCCESS and GOOD DEEDS!
I don't usually stand up for a multinational, but I've seen people (noncustomers) pour the entire container of milk into a mug or other container to drink and then get real mouthy when called out and told they aren't supposed to do that. most starbucks have bathrooms (because the fucking City won't provide them) and I'll always hold them in positive regard for posting signs on the doors during the antiwar protests under Bush saying the toilets **were** available to demonstrators, unlike other places that closed for the day and put up plywood. And frankly their dark roast remains a consistently strong cup that I can't get in any of the stand alone cafes around the Village with the exception of Lucy's on 1st and 1st who uses Bustelo. Some people like their coffee weak, and with lots of gunk and sugar in it. "Black Coffee" was one of Henry Rollins' and Black Flags best songs. Back in the day, I knew skinheads who would brag about bleeding into the bottled ketchup on tables, so maybe its not a good idea to use the milk either.
If you want free milk to drink at Starbucks, just pour 2/3s skim milk and 1/3 half and half into a cup and you'll still have a nice free cup of whole milk. I'm sure Starbucks can afford it.
Love it or hate it, Starbucks have become an integral part of the and any neighborhood. I used to rail on their presence. But I found myself going there, either to use their bathrooms, or just to be alone and pass the time when going to a museum, movie, or a bar just quite doesn't cut it. And, for the latter, I used to go to bookstores and record stores or video stores and browse, but we hardly have those anymore. Other coffee shops are either haughty or you have to keep purchasing something to stay there for long, otherwise, its employees make it reaaalllyyy uncomfortable for you for being there. At Starbucks, you don't have to purchase anything, but I think standard etiquette calls for at least one to purchase something, but one can linger at Starbucks longer without being harassed by its employees (except for when 'stealing' their whole milk). So I don't want to be hypocritical and keep railing on Starbucks. They don't serve alcohol, they don't crowd the sidewalks, they don't serve "brunch", they're not open all night. They mostly don't have theatrical and/or bearded hipster baristas wearing trilby and suspenders serving your beverage. It's not a bar masquerading as a coffee shop. It's not a coffee shop that turns into an exclusive restaurant with tasting menu for dinner. It's not for those who feel special and selected by having your name put down in a clipboard and have your name called by a surly bouncers after waitng 45+ mins. You see almost every type of people in there -- race, gender, class, profession, tourists, residents, etc. Blame the landlords for having the rents being able to afford only by corporate chains like Starbucks. Hate the [gentrification] game, but not its players. Now I'm off to get an egg nog latte and spike it with bourbon from the flask hidden under my coat. Warmest wishes to y'all and yours this Merry Season.
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