i’m going to assume this is successful bds result and not union busting 🙉
Definitely the latter. Three SB locations in my city were among the first to unionize. All of them were shut down within months.
🙈🙉🙊
I’m a little skeptical about union busting. Starbucks designed the “pickup only” locations to be staffed with small crews of 1-3 which were less prone to worker solidarity. And the pickup only locations are the bulk of the closures.
Yeah the ones where I am were not pickup only. They were the literal vanguard of the SB union.
Starbucks isn’t in BDS afaik
not in the official campaign no, it was mainly usa kerfuffle due to union posting support for palestine in 2023 and some corporate shitflinging as a result *(nor is it priority or people’s campaign target of the bds movement to be clear)
It is funny, centrist “everything is fine” actually Libs always said affordability wasn’t actually an issue because people were still buying the garbage slop companies like McDonald’s and Wendy’s were putting out despite the inflated price, if it was really “unaffordable” consumers would stop buying it and that would force companies to lower prices cuz muh supply and demand.
Well fast forward and it turns out that yeah, after a while people stop going to certain places with inflated prices, if you’re used to getting coffee every day at Starbucks it may take a minute for the higher price to turn you off cuz old habits die hard. But most companies response has been to downsize, no lower costs, cuz I guess it’s easier to squeeze the consumers who can afford the higher costs than try and hold on to your lower income customers.
Though there does seem to be a bit of a shift now, Taco Bell is doing better than a lot of fast food chains cuz they have actually kept some super cheap options on their menu. Dunkin’ Donuts now has a $6 breakfast deal where you can get an breakfast sandwich, hash brown and medium coffee. McDonald’s is apparently planning on bringing back some meal deals.
Dan Bongos who goes to his local starbucks daily and makes the barista write and say “TRUMP 2028” in shambles
Everyone who says starbucks costs $10 is just admitting that they drink a milkshake for breakfast.
A large drip coffee is like 4-5 bucks after tip. More than I’d like to pay for sure but if it’s 2 blocks closer to the jobsite than a cheaper option I’ll get it
$5 for drip is also wild.
Latte at sbux or equivalent (chain or local doing espresso drinks) by me is base ~$6-7, +$1 upcharge for plant-based milk, +$1.50 for an extra shot of espresso. +Tip. + Mentally rounding anything north of $7 up to “damn that cost almost $10” anyway
3-shot oat milk latte made at home costs me <$2, even less if I make my own milk
if I make my own milk
I missed the oat milk part for a second there
mpreg wetnurse is my new band name
I just drink my coffee black but I’m not going to sbux if there’s anything else nearby. I’d rather pay the same for an actually tasty coffee at a local place
Their drip coffee is burnt to shit and tastes like ass, imo that’s why people load it up with all the cream, sugar, syrups, and flavours
What is the point in getting coffee out at some chain shop if you aren’t getting a glorified milkshake? There are so many ways to put hot water over beans why are people paying?
Sometimes I want another coffee & I didn’t/wasn’t able to bring some from home. But I usually aim for cheaper places/non-chains, imo Starbucks and similar joints are a rip off
Some of us find it almost impossible to get to work on time without adding the variable of making coffee first. Getting to work late is bad but nobody cares if I get to work on time then go get a coffee after doing my safety paperwork
pike place is fine to drink black but yeah if I have more than a medium i get heartburn from it
Person from a country with actual cafés here, what the fuck? An expensive-as-shit espresso costs around 2$ here. Not that I drink much else, but the prices for anything other than an espresso aren’t any more than 4ish bucks.
A medium tim hortons coffee is $2 here and that’s basically piss water.
I live in the land of high food prices, Canada
One shot of espresso in California Starbucks is $3.45 but people wouldn’t generally order that. People are used to drinking larger portion sizes
I’ve enjoyed many 10rs cups of chai. Sometimes you just need a small cup
Everything in the US is very, very expensive. You think those high wages aren’t getting swallowed right back up by bougies?
I think some people are used to the super lattes and aren’t used to ordered the drip coffee and adding in some cream and sugar. At least I wasn’t when I was in college
I remember when the doppio was 1.95 to which I would often add cream and sugar
I luckily only drink black coffee so if i want an over-the-top sugar drink I’ll just get one without the coffee
If I’m getting a nice coffee out, I’m not looking to get (overpriced) drip coffee.
They’re going to replace them with AI enabled cafe vending experiences
Not worth going to starbucks if I can’t scream at the barista for getting my venti triple frappé macchiato diabates espresso order wrong.
“You were right to push back about that order, I gave you Cushing’s syndrome and you clearly asked for diabetes. I need to own that going forward”
People still buy coffee in 2026 instead of popping a caffeine pill?
please stop closing starbucks in north america, close all of the european one’s first pls plsplsplspls :3
Let’s do both!
I wonder if there’s a parallel to the bookstore boom? Local bookstores are doing really well across the US right now, and I would conjecture that local coffee shops are experiencing something similar for the same reason. Why do people like a local bookstore? Good vibes, every spot feels different, you build a relationship with staff, better selection, comparable prices, community gathering space, your money is at least staying with local petty bourgeois instead of being siphoned at higher rates to imperial bourgeois. I think that basically all applies to local coffee shops.
Anecdotally, local coffee shops in my area are doing really well, new ones opening all the time while Starbucks in the very same neighborhoods are shutting down. I’m sitting in one of a few different local spots right now and it’s packed with a line to the door.
It’s a very rudimentary expression of anti-capitalist consciousness, I think.
I only ever went there when I was with other people because I don’t like coffee. Union busting gives me an active reason to not go there.
