On Starbucks and Shopping Local

Is supporting small business an either-or decision?

There are two kinds of people in this world.

There are Starbucks aficionados who can’t live without their venti double-whip caramel skinny soy unicorn latte with an extra shot and sprinkles or whatever, wondering if IV bags will be available in the drive-through any time soon.

Then there are the people who look down their nose at the green mermaid as the evil, faceless corporate bully overpricing mediocrity and putting local coffee shops out of business just for the fun of it.

I’ve been a card-carrying member of both camps.

Look, I’m a pro-business, pro-capitalism conservative. I believe more choices mean better choices for the consumer. I know that companies grow and expand because they do what they do well — something that should be rewarded, not scoffed at.

But here’s the deal: I live in a small-town-turning-suburb with a surprisingly high number of coffee shops per capita, all cozy local joints that are cheaper, faster, and as good as (or better than) Starbucks. I love shopping local. I’m proud of where I live, and I want to keep small businesses, which employ nearly half of working Americans, alive and kicking.

In the microcosm of small-town life, and especially in an era where it seems like it’s harder than ever for small businesses to get off the ground, it comes so naturally, even to me, to be anti-big business.

When I heard a Starbucks would be opening down the street, I was indignant. “Get out of my little town!” I said. “I’m never going there!”

I proudly shared photos of locally branded cups with straws that were any color but green. My neighbors would look at my Instagram and see no Starbucks here, no sirree! Local lattes only for me!

Then one steamy Texas summer day not long after hearing the news about Starbucks invading my quaint and homely hamlet, I unwisely decided to walk to several errands downtown, and wearing long pants to boot. Soon enough I was sweatier than is considered polite and parched. I was thick in my anti-Starbucks fervor, but desperate in my search of air conditioning, I hoofed it into the Starbucks up the street to grab an iced tea to keep me going.

“Hey, Katie!” said the manager, a compact, ponytailed man with an always cheerful smile. “How have you been?”

And I felt so small.

This Starbucks on 10th and Congress holds fond memories for me. For a time, even before I was really a coffee drinker, I visited it at least once a week. It was a convenient place to have meetings or to chat with my husband, who worked a few blocks past it at the time. Phil, the manager, knew my usual orders and always struck up a jovial conversation. He gave me a free drink any time something was even slightly wrong, and once just because I looked like I was stressed. (I was, and it made my day.)

I hadn’t been inside this Starbucks in at least a year — but he still remembered me.

And I remembered why Starbucks is successful. Because they serve good, fast coffee, however you want it, and because their customer service is top-notch.

Starbucks isn’t moving into the suburbs to put people out of business or ruin communities’ character. They’re just doing what they do — selling coffee. Which means giving people jobs, and more options, which is all in all a good thing.

So I’ve relented my anti-Starbucks crusade. I still want to support local small businesses first, so my beloved local haunts will always be my first choice. But I recognize that Starbucks isn’t evil, and dropping by every now and then won’t mean the end of the world.

But if you want to go to Starbucks, that’s okay too.

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