A few years back I was on a trip to Denver, CO with my family and I found a local coffee shop I really liked. The interior design, the vibes, the baristas, and -- they even had a see through window so you could see them roasting the beans. I felt like I had truly discovered a local gem.
I did a quick search to see if they had other locations and found the true owner behind "Allegro Coffee" -- Amazon.
My disappointment was immense. Maybe I'm naive in thinking that if people discover the true driving force behind something that feels "cool" (e.g. Tiger Global) they will shift their behavior, but I guess time will tell...
"Yeah uhhh I'll have an Oat Milk Tiger Global Cappuccino, 2 pumps of of the EBITDA syrup"
Interesting because the blank street near me is the size of a shoebox and only has one person working it. I noticed that they essentially triage mobile orders but there are still are walkins who get super frustrated yet the reviews are all pretty high for the most part.
I feel like people just love to hate on starbucks (as they should) but there is a brand perception of it that is far more negative. I think as blank street has been rapidly expanding, they will also lose this hands-on feel and personalization over time.. I would be interested to see the # store locations compared to their ratings over time! Thanks for sharing - this is exactly the kind of thing I have been wanting to see and why I love substack! You should send this to them!
ah glad you enjoyed! that's interesting that it seems understaffed there. Their # of locations in NYC has basically stayed flat since they launched so many in 2022, and their rating has gone up (i imagine as they've figured out operations to some degree)
They're expanding in London now, and DC. Will be curious to see where it goes
Gotta say I pretty much actively avoid Starbucks nowadays. Used to be kind of a fun experience even though the coffee was extremely mediocre to bad (over roasted and bitter). Now it’s hard to feel the atmosphere is a step above Dunkin’s and it just feels unwelcoming. I frequent local coffee shops or failing that, Caffe Nero, which also isn’t all that great, and service can be slow, but the shops are usually fun to sit in for a bit.
Yeah they're bad, at least in the city (maybe in the suburbs they are still okay?) and agree the coffee has always been bad, at least their drip coffee
Blank Street Coffee these days is trying to do a dozen things at the same time. Originally they focused on finding small real estate where they can put in a "local" coffee shop in coffee shop deserts...which was fine. But now with the oodles of funding, it's like they're both just expanding wayyyy too rapidly that they have to take on the local shops versus Starbucks, Blue Bottle, etc.
Also they opened a BSC across the street from my local coffee shop (Fillup Coffee) and it definitely ticked me off. The ONLY pro to them versus Fillup for me is that they sell breakfast burritos and sandwiches... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It was...fine? To be honest BSC these days to me fills in the task-driven coffee shop experience (Get X coffee and go) versus enjoyment-driven (go to a shop for the quality of coffee...and possibly the space).
That's my issue that - BSC is utility-driven for coffee, but why choose spots where local shops are nearby?? Go to other cities that may not have them!!
A few years back I was on a trip to Denver, CO with my family and I found a local coffee shop I really liked. The interior design, the vibes, the baristas, and -- they even had a see through window so you could see them roasting the beans. I felt like I had truly discovered a local gem.
I did a quick search to see if they had other locations and found the true owner behind "Allegro Coffee" -- Amazon.
My disappointment was immense. Maybe I'm naive in thinking that if people discover the true driving force behind something that feels "cool" (e.g. Tiger Global) they will shift their behavior, but I guess time will tell...
"Yeah uhhh I'll have an Oat Milk Tiger Global Cappuccino, 2 pumps of of the EBITDA syrup"
ha! that's funny i didn't know about allegro
And yeah... turns out pretty much everything cool eventually gets institutional investment haha
Interesting because the blank street near me is the size of a shoebox and only has one person working it. I noticed that they essentially triage mobile orders but there are still are walkins who get super frustrated yet the reviews are all pretty high for the most part.
I feel like people just love to hate on starbucks (as they should) but there is a brand perception of it that is far more negative. I think as blank street has been rapidly expanding, they will also lose this hands-on feel and personalization over time.. I would be interested to see the # store locations compared to their ratings over time! Thanks for sharing - this is exactly the kind of thing I have been wanting to see and why I love substack! You should send this to them!
ah glad you enjoyed! that's interesting that it seems understaffed there. Their # of locations in NYC has basically stayed flat since they launched so many in 2022, and their rating has gone up (i imagine as they've figured out operations to some degree)
They're expanding in London now, and DC. Will be curious to see where it goes
Gotta say I pretty much actively avoid Starbucks nowadays. Used to be kind of a fun experience even though the coffee was extremely mediocre to bad (over roasted and bitter). Now it’s hard to feel the atmosphere is a step above Dunkin’s and it just feels unwelcoming. I frequent local coffee shops or failing that, Caffe Nero, which also isn’t all that great, and service can be slow, but the shops are usually fun to sit in for a bit.
Yeah they're bad, at least in the city (maybe in the suburbs they are still okay?) and agree the coffee has always been bad, at least their drip coffee
Starbucks needs to bifurcate their business lines between coffee and public pay for use bathroom. I wonder what the ratings would look like then....
My mom and I have always wanted to start this business. I think operationally quite burdensome. One bad actor and you get a gross bathroom…
Totally agree
It’s not clear to me why there aren’t bathrooms for money in a place like New York. I think it would be an amazing credit card benefit
Blank Street Coffee these days is trying to do a dozen things at the same time. Originally they focused on finding small real estate where they can put in a "local" coffee shop in coffee shop deserts...which was fine. But now with the oodles of funding, it's like they're both just expanding wayyyy too rapidly that they have to take on the local shops versus Starbucks, Blue Bottle, etc.
On a side note, I did wonder where BSC sourced the beans, and here's what I got from one location: https://stpancras.com/eat-drink/blank-street-coffee#:~:text=Blank%20Street%20exclusively%20serves%20specialty,coffee%20is%20proudly%20rated%2084.
Also they opened a BSC across the street from my local coffee shop (Fillup Coffee) and it definitely ticked me off. The ONLY pro to them versus Fillup for me is that they sell breakfast burritos and sandwiches... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Interesting! Have you found the service to be particularly good or bad?
It was...fine? To be honest BSC these days to me fills in the task-driven coffee shop experience (Get X coffee and go) versus enjoyment-driven (go to a shop for the quality of coffee...and possibly the space).
Got it that is how I think of it, as a utility
That's my issue that - BSC is utility-driven for coffee, but why choose spots where local shops are nearby?? Go to other cities that may not have them!!
Yeah I don't like it at all :( but i guess maybe they need really high traffic locations to make it work