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"The shoals" metropolitan area is 145,000. We have UNA, northwest shoals, and many other businesses. It's an educated community. We have plenty of the so called "latte educated drinkers" as noted by many of the other local coffee shops. So, why no Starbucks? Florence, near UNA, would be a great place. The old backyard burger location seems ideal. Near una, downtown, and the bridge. I believe it would do well. I know plenty of people who feel the same way.
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Its a myth that Starbucks is expensive. If you are a coffee shop visitor, you know better. Most of the other places I visit are similiar or more expensive. A 3 shot, 2 flavor large latte at mug.com in muscle shoals is 5.23$. That is the most expensive around. A large 3 shot mocha latte at le beous in the florence mall is 5.03$ A large 3 shot mocha latte at McCgraws on court street is 4.85$ The cheapest is rivertown. A large mocha latte is 4.15$ Starbucks isnt any more expensive than most coffee shops.. And joe muggs is terrible.

It was more of a rhetorical question. I know why we dont have a starbucks. A large part of the redneck population wont pay any more than 1.25$ for a cup of chevron burnt coffee.
i love starbucks coffee, everytime i go to huntsville i stop in athens and pick up a tall regular, which is somewhere under $2. the prices are pretty much on par with joe muggs and and the place at the mall. so i dont think it's the price. but if you think you get the same quality of coffee from say foldgers or maxwell house you are living in a dream world. starbucks french roast is right on par with PEETS french roast. which if you truly LOVE coffee, and you appreciate the complexities in a high quality bean, you definitely need to buy yourself some PEETS. sooooo good.
The average price for a cup of coffee is 2 dollars at both DD and Starbucks, however most people don't just get coffee. The average amount spent per visit to Starbucks is $6.36 compared to $5.92 (or $23.37 vs $18.09) So it's safe to say that people are buying lattes or pastries with their purchase. BTW, the prices are from 2007 and Starbucks has already said that the amount people spend has actually increased in the past year.

Anyhow, I think the biggest reason that there isn't a Starbucks in the Shoals is because of the low average income in the area. Starbucks average income while dropping is still around $65,000 a year. The Median income here is $41,000 a year. People aged 55-64 is closer at $50,000 a year but the average Starbucks drinker is in their late 30s
If I was considering a Starbucks franchise in Florence and visited Riverton on a Friday or Saturday night to see how busy they were, I'd forget about it. Support your local businesses! That place is never busy (enough).

I heard that the Dunkin Donuts in HSV closed after someone drove a car into the building. It was sold, remodeled, and is now a very busy Tenders restaurant. There are still drive thru signs outside that were part of Dunkin Donuts.

The thing with Huntsville is that for all the Starbucks, and there are half a dozen or so, there are also popular local coffee shops that generate a lot of business.
have you had PEETS French Roast or PEETS Major Dickason's Blend?

i'm a snob to the fullest and those two are the only kinds i keep in my house. and actually when starbucks first started and was only a coffee bean supplier, opposed to having actual stores to go into, they purchased their beans from PEETS.

and your right, what McDonalds has done with their coffee was a smart move. ive only had the regular coffee, but it was pretty good the time i had it
A lot of people think that coffee is supposed to taste burnt thanks to Starbucks and their roasting the beans at a higher than normal temperature. But then again, most people don't buy plain coffee there so they likely don't taste the difference in their flavored drinks. The flash roasting is a key reason why a lot of people like McDonald's better. Trust me, you guys aren't missing much. Support your local coffeeshops.
it's really not a matter of who has the best, but who has the one you prefer the most. i prefer bold roasts, such as french and italian, this is how i think coffee should taste. "normal" coffee tastes weak and watered down to me, but thats just me. starbucks doesn't tasete "burnt", it's bolder than what most people are used to because most people aren't used to bold coffee. dunkins is the opposite, their coffee is very mild, which could translate into tasting better depending on what you like. so i say support whoever serves what you like the most, thats what i do, and for me, that place is starbucks.
you can find PEETS at Publix and at the Fresh Market in Huntsville. and you can buy it from their website. if you were to order it online they rape you on the shipping, however you will never have a cup of fresher coffee. if i was to say place an order today, more than likely i would receive coffee next week that will be roasted on monday. i don't know of any other place where you can get beans that were roasted only a few days before. but like i said, you'll definitely pay for shipping, but for me it was well worth it.
I went to McGraw's for the first time this week. Granddaughter and I each got a mocha frappe and a bagel. Cost was $14.65. Pretty steep in my book. Bagel was not any better than those we fix at home. But it was my first experience with the frappe and it was good. Went back yesterday for another frappe. Got there at 5:30 and the place was closed. Sign on the door says they are open until 6:00 Monday thru Friday. I guess if you are homeowned and independent you can come and go as you please. But I was much disappointed. So I went to McDonald's for the mocha frappe. Walla!! It was better than McGraw's. So McGraw's just lost my business to a chain for not being open. Don't guess the loss of my business will affect their bottom line but how many other people pushed on that same locked door..............
So many complain about nothing to do at night in a college town .... a coffee shop with free wifi, selling coffee, smooothies and sandwiches would be a perfect evening hangout with UNA right down the street....just saying...and McGraws has a better atmosphere than Rivertown in my opinion. Besides a little competition for the college crowd couldn't hurt. And what about the residents of the downtown apartments? They could probably do a pretty good business. Do they stay open later on First Fridays?
vplee123 -
[QUOTE]I am semi-embarassed to say the second best (to Mcgraw's in Florence) is..wait for it...
MCDONALDS!
Their new coffee/frappe/mocha are all awesome! I bet they would fare pretty well against SB in a taste test...and I am a coffee snob! [/QUOTE]

I love McDs coffee - especially the iced coffee. I have never cared for cold coffee in my life - I've always thought it was disgusting. Until McDs iced coffee. It's great, and has a smooth, almost chocolate flavor.

That being said, I've often wondered why there is no Starbucks in Florence. It would do well downtown by UNA.

I am sure that Florence has some great locally owned places, but it seems like the city in general is a good locale for a Starbucks.
Starbucks is over extended. They were the Walgreen's and CVS war combined. The coffee is not really that good I feel, nor the atmosphere that friendly. Caribou in Atlanta for a corporate shop is good. Want good coffee? Get a coffee grinder, get a Krups and go to ATL and Trader Joe's. You don't even have to do that, actually, there is good Italian roast espresso in Publix in Athens.
I am a late 60's alumna of UNA. I am continually badgered to donate to this or that scholarship fund. Since I paid my own tuition I do not feel particularly movtivated to help pay the tuition of someone who drinks Starbuck's coffee. I know that all students are not on scholarships or grants(which all you Forumiets are contributing to)- but I am very tired of reading that UNA students would/should be good Starbucks customers! BTW, I feel the sae way about tuition for "Greeks"!

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