You have not, I take it, visited the Union Station branch of Starbucks!
A few years ago, there was a short-lived magazine called "The Coffee Journal," a quarterly aimed at the consumer side of coffeehouse culture. In one issue, Kenneth Davids--IMNSHO the best coffee writer around--wrote a nice article about the Starbucks dilemma, that on the one hand Starbucks is a ruthless chain with rigid standardization, but on the other hand they make quite good coffee, treat their employees well, are efficient, and create a generally pleasant place to be.
I wish there were more independent places in DC that had coffee better than Starbucks, but the only one I've found is Murky Coffee. I love Murky coffee, and try to go there whenever I'm near Eastern Market, which isn't that often.
The local cafe we had here in Brookland, Java Head, was actually pretty bad. I went there because it was a coffee shop in my neighborhood, but they didn't brew very good coffee, they were terribly inefficient, and they had marginal hours (like closing at 3pm on the weekends).
I think Starbucks on the whole has been good for the country. It's introduced high-quality coffee in places that would have never developed their own indigenous coffee culture, and it provides a welcoming atmosphere to those who might feel intimidated or put off by a more bohemian place.
A neighbor of mine used to manage a Starbucks in the DC area. He tells me that Starbucks here hires a considerable number of "at risk" types, getting some sort of tax benefit as part of that. Their employee training must be very good, because for the most part you wouldn't guess it. It can be a headache for the managers, though, and I think that's what led my neighbor to leave Starbucks.
Well, Cafe Sureira should be a definite step up in Brookland. She plans to serve Illy Coffee!!!! That says something about her perception of quality. And dean, when it opens, will also have great coffee and a good experience as well, although it will be a cafe with good coffee, rather than a coffee shop.
It's hard to open independent places, you need anywhere from $60-$125,000 to do so...
Sorta agree. The locals range from mediocre (but nice counter help) to ok coffee (but great German pastries and breads). So, I do patronize the locals in Vacaville, but Starbucks is usually much more lively (it's next to a multiplex) and has much, much later hours (10:00 p.m. vs. 6:00 p.m.)
We now have a Peets in the county(one of the original founders of Starbucks) which has much better coffee than Starbucks or the independents.
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