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News Roundup for September 6, 2024
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Starbucks coming to Queen + Bathurst!

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MetroMan

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Whoa.. this totally came out of left field for me...

Just when the Toronto Police is talking about how Queen W + Bathurst is the area with most 911 calls, news like this comes along.

My local Starbucks baristas (Queen W + Claremont) were talking about how their business was going to drop once Queen and Bathurst opens and I had to interrupt: "Excuse me?? S'bux Queen + Bathurst??". They confirmed that it would be opening in April or May.

This could be a curious situation of waiting to see if the Starbucks molds the neighborhood or if the neighborhood molds Starbucks.

Often, a Starbucks will attract a different crowd to a hood and generally change the area. I don't know if their gentrification power can overcome the NW corner of the intersection's drunk/drugged/mentally ill crowd.

St. Christopher House is adding a gate around the perimeter to discourage/eliminate loitering on that corner so Starbucks may well be the Mario mushroom that the corner needed to finish the transformation.

I for one (living not far from there) welcome this news and await in anticipation the results or non-results of this development.
 
Sorry, almost forgot to say where it's going.

There was a variety store on the NE corner of the intersection which has been closed and vandalized for months. Starbucks is opening right on the corner across from St. Christopher House and sharing the intersection with The Big Bop and the Pizza Pizza.
 
I think the Starbucks there is a reflection of all the development south of Queen. It is only a matter of time before it spreads to the empty lots in the Queen Bathurst area.
 
Darkstar416 said:
I already mentioned this in the Retail section a few weeks back. There's also a Tim Horton's opening in the old Queenshead location too.
Click to expand...

Wow! A Timmies in my hood?? I think the nearest Queen St. Tim's to me is all the way down on University..lol

This is going to be great. I wonder if the "Q" look is going to kept.

As for Tim's driving out S'bux... don't underestimate the cult following of Starbucks. I'm one of them! ha! I wouldn't touch a Second Cup. Coffee Time? Not a chance I'd even step in there. I do love Tim's food so I'm happy to see this one coming to the "Q".

My local Starbucks on Claremont is my office pretty much. I spend a good 20 hours a week in there. I like the atmosphere and the service so I'm willing to pay a premium for their drinks.
 
Oh yah... near the hospital. I think Bathurst is a black hole from Queen to Bloor with minor exceptions at the Dundas and College St. intersections.

It's a strange animal: lined with houses like a side street but serviced by a streetcar and 6 lanes of traffic like a major thoroughfare.
 
wow I actually miss the sanctuary... it's been a decade now.. eh

As for Tim's driving out S'bux... don't underestimate the cult following of Starbucks. I'm one of them! ha! I wouldn't touch a Second Cup. Coffee Time? Not a chance I'd even step in there. I do love Tim's food so I'm happy to see this one coming to the "Q".

I'm another Starbucks fan :) The problem with Tims in some areas is the loitering crowd, some never go away.. the ickiest one is in the Lakeshore Village (Lakeshore BLVD W and 27th st.), there is a small patio in front of the coffee shop's entrance that's always packed with "choo choo train" smoking parents with babies in strollers and drunks with paper bag-covered beer in their hands... you have to walk through them in order to enter the coffee shop...

The residents are still begging Starbucks to open near by.
 
Hmm. I'd rather have my coffee at home than at SBUX or Timmies. There's something I honestly don't understand about Sbux-types: how do you feel comfortable "working" online at sbux? And can you really accomplish much? Is there a certain amount of money you've got to spend per hour at sbux? Do they kick people out if say you spend 2 hours there and buy the cheapest coffee? All questions that have puzzled me for years and I look forward to the answers!

(Personally, I'm annoyed by these yuppie types. And I loathe the bland beigeness that is Sbux's theme. It feels like this polite PC-zone filled with polite but self-absorbed people. Aggravating.)
 
urbandreamer said:
Hmm. I'd rather have my coffee at home than at SBUX or Timmies. There's something I honestly don't understand about Sbux-types: how do you feel comfortable "working" online at sbux? And can you really accomplish much? Is there a certain amount of money you've got to spend per hour at sbux? Do they kick people out if say you spend 2 hours there and buy the cheapest coffee? All questions that have puzzled me for years and I look forward to the answers!

(Personally, I'm annoyed by these yuppie types. And I loathe the bland beigeness that is Sbux's theme. It feels like this polite PC-zone filled with polite but self-absorbed people. Aggravating.)
Click to expand...

Is there a certain amount of money you've got to spend per hour at sbux? Do they kick people out if say you spend 2 hours there and buy the cheapest coffee?

of'course not!


I never thought about Starbucks to this depth, I like it there because they smile at screaming kids and offer them free samples of all kinds of goodies, once I forgot my wallet and the barrista let me have a coffee for free (I repaid her next day), I sat there for 2 hours with my free coffee with a sleeping baby in my arms and no one ever said anything.
They have accessible washrooms with changing tables, love their vanilla soy lattes (I make these at home too) and recent cup cakes.

I do see people with their lap tops sitting there for hours, most are playing online games though :)

I once walked in to get a latte on my way to Chapters and noticed a guy in a suit sitting by the window staring at his laptop, I walked by the window 4 hours later, he was still sitting there... yes, he was playing SIMS..
 
urbandreamer said:
Hmm. I'd rather have my coffee at home than at SBUX or Timmies. There's something I honestly don't understand about Sbux-types: how do you feel comfortable "working" online at sbux? And can you really accomplish much? Is there a certain amount of money you've got to spend per hour at sbux? Do they kick people out if say you spend 2 hours there and buy the cheapest coffee? All questions that have puzzled me for years and I look forward to the answers!

(Personally, I'm annoyed by these yuppie types. And I loathe the bland beigeness that is Sbux's theme. It feels like this polite PC-zone filled with polite but self-absorbed people. Aggravating.)
Click to expand...

I don't know whether or not to be offended at your comment but I'll try to answer your questions anyway...

How do you feel comfortable "working" online at sbux? And can you really accomplish much?

I have two incompatible personality traits...
One: I like (need to be) working around people.
Two: I can't work for others. I can't hold a day job if my life depended on it.
So I work from home. However, I can't be productive working in a quiet atmosphere. I need people around me. In comes Starbucks.

So yes, I feel very comfortable @ S'bux. They usually have nice music playing, smiling and polite baristas, comfy couches and (at least at my Starbucks) I don't encounter noisy people. You sometimes hear some interesting conversations, but one can assume that if you can afford to and are willing to buy a $5 latte, you're likely to follow public space etiquette. It's a relaxing, yet stimulating atmosphere. I like it.

Let's put it this way. If I didn't work from Starbucks, I wouldn't get anything done. I don't want to get into what I do too much but I can say that I work out of the "office" on weekends and then work two days a week (Mon-Tues) compiling that work. I actually call those two days "Starbucks Productivity Day". lol

It feels like this polite PC-zone filled with polite but self-absorbed people.

May I ask why you think these people are self-absorbed? :confused:

Is there a certain amount of money you've got to spend per hour at sbux? Do they kick people out if say you spend 2 hours there and buy the cheapest coffee?

No. You won't be kicked out. I sometimes spend 3 to 5 hours at my Starbucks when I 'm really on a roll getting stuff done. Yeah, sounds like a lot but time flies when I'm working.

As far as spending limitations, I usually bring in a Tazo tea that I make at home in my travel mug, get a seat and start working. When I'm done, I'll go buy one at the counter.... so I don't usually buy more than one cup unless I'm there for those 3 to 5 hours.

They don't mind it. In fact they encourage it. They know that I buy my tea packs at Starbucks and even give me a discount for bringing in my own mug.

As far as perks go, the service is invariably impeccable. I too once forgot my wallet and was offered my $5 tea for free. This was at a Starbucks that I haven't ever gone to so they didn't know me and made no assumptions. I apologized and said I'd go home to get the cash but they insisted on the free drink.

My little cousin works for Starbucks and she once showed me the training manual. Wow... I have to say that they know what they're talking about. They have put a lot of work into an eco-system of products/service/atmosphere and it works.

This Seattle based company knows something about service and to me that's just as valuable as a good product.

.... then again, if you're the Coffee Time sippin', donut eatin' "Give me my 99¢ double-double" crowd... you won't understand. :rolleyes:
 
urbandreamer said:
(Personally, I'm annoyed by these yuppie types. And I loathe the bland beigeness that is Sbux's theme. It feels like this polite PC-zone filled with polite but self-absorbed people. Aggravating.)
Click to expand...

The coffee shop for unemployed people who'd rather be homeless than live in a condo is called Galaxy donuts.
 
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