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Coffee wars New Guy in the NeighborhoodBy Rick Horowitz
"Can I clear that for you?" We're sitting over breakfast at Einstein's -- there's nothing like a fresh bowl of fruit bits and a hot cup of coffee to get the morning off to a rousing start. Clearing our trash is something we're accustomed to doing for ourselves. It's nowhere near as stimulating as chewing over the latest headlines with a fellow news junkie, but it's all part of the ritual: When you're done with your food and your drink and with solving the world's problems, you bus your own table.
"Can I clear that for you?" This isn't that kind of place. It is now. Starbucks has arrived. I never even saw it coming. One day, there was an empty space among the shops along Oakland Avenue, and another day, there was a brand-new storefront, with glass walls and a little porch along one side for outdoor sipping, and Grand Opening banners. The neighborhood's very first Starbucks. And now Einstein's isn't just offering to clear your table, but it's open for business a half-hour earlier than it used to be. Einstein's, with its multiple urns of multiple brews, is dragging itself out of bed and throwing open its doors 30 minutes earlier than it's always done. That wouldn't have anything to do with the new guy down the block, would it? And how about the cheery little postcard that showed up in the mailbox the other day from the local Stone Creek outlet? "The drinks are on the house!" it proclaimed, or something equally inviting. If we just tuck those little postcards into our pockets and get ourselves over to Stone Creek some time soon, they want us to know, they'll be delighted to offer up, absolutely free of charge (up to two dollars and some substantial number of cents, anyway) a coffee or specialty coffee beverage of our choosing. No purchase necessary. No obligation or commitment of any sort. The kindly folks at Stone Creek were simply struck by the overwhelming urge to do this generous deed for us, the neighborhood's hardy band of quality-coffee quaffers -- and to do it now. Coincidence? Or competition? Is there any doubt? It's the free-enterprise system at work. It's the Great American Battle for Market Share! There's Stone Creek and there's Einstein's, after all, just a few short blocks from one another, plus the nice little café tucked inside the local bookstore. It was hardly a coffee-deprived neighborhood even before Starbucks showed up. And now? Too many beans chasing too few consumers. Somebody's going to win. Somebody's going to lose. And in the meantime, desperate measures. Free samples. Longer hours. Better service. "Is everything OK?" Back at Einstein's, the help is going table to table. Just checking in, just making sure they're doing all they can to make our experience a satisfying, gratifying one. An experience we'll want to repeat. "Is everything OK?" Everything is great. It's nice to be in such demand. "Is everything OK?" We should be asking them. Posted 7/12/06.
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Rick Horowitz
