I couldn't agree more...I guess "Keep our Koffeeheads" just didn't have the same ring to it.

Starbucks will be fine. I think it's sick to have three Starbucks in RiverPark area. Is the community really rallying around "The Man"???

I like Starbucks, but Cafe Corazon (Fulton Mall) has much better coffee. Let's see this as an opportunity to support local folks. I doubt the execs at Starbucks will look down from the plane as it flies from Seattle to LA and notice all of the signs on the window.

Grow up Fresno!!!!

Mike you have to realize that with the price of gas these days all the Northerns can't afford to both drive to another Starbucks and pay to fill up their SUV's. Oh wait, they can. What was I thinking?

Seriously I couldn't believe this when I saw it this morning. And if there is so much support now, where was it before when the execs made the decesion to close it? It's Starbucks. Not like you aren't going to find another one a mile north of you. Or three within spitting distance another mile north than that.

And I didn't have time to read the whole article. Was there mention of the people who are losing their jobs? Hopefully they can get absorbed into another SB.

No kidding! In fact, when I saw this story I thought, "You've GOT to be kidding me!" Are people that lazy they can't go to one of the other Starbucks in town that are, I'm sure, not more than a couple of miles away?

Honestly, I can't believe people are still willing to shell out $4 for a "coffee" drink that costs as much as a gallon of gasoline. But then, that's just me.

Oh gosh, I don't feel sorry for Starbucks at all. Even if they closed half of the ones open in Fresno, we'd still see one every mile or so while driving down Shaw.

I loved Koffeeheads and knew several people who worked there at the time of their closing -- it was pretty devastating to them all. Smaller shops like that need our support more than the big guys, that's for sure!

I miss Koffeeheads... a lot. I didn't sit & chill in there or anything, I just really liked their coffee.... a lot.

I say we bring BACK the PeTA shower babes
-and pour starbucks coffee on them...
now THAT's a protest baby.

hmmm.

(note to self:
-stop listening to NineInchNails after midnight,
-burn Fangoria collection,
-think happy thoughts about bunnies and flowers.)

haha how embarrassing. thanks for calling these clowns out, mike.

This was exactly what I was thinking when I read that story. Maybe some brave local soul will open a coffee shop in that location.

It's just a reflection of the lack of support that Fresno has for mom and pop's stores. They would rather rally around some corperate vampire than open their shallow minds to something different, local, and homegrown.

I would move but I have too many ties here to do that. I have an invisible chain that keeps me here. Right when I think I'm out of Fresno, it pulls me right back in!

So, might as well make it a better place.

I am going to admit it. I AM that lazy. If Starbucks is on the opposite side of the street I am way less likely to go there.

The specific location is closing for a reason. Why don't people get that? If they were such loyal customers of that precious location, Starbucks wouldn't have looked at the numbers as underperforming and decided to close it. So, you coffee clowns have no one to blame but yourselves for its closure. Spend your time doing something productive, like learning simple business basics.

WTF?!?!?? Really!?!? C'mon!!!! Starbucks???? OMG, whats next??? Save WAL-MART???? Get a life....... Great job OZ!

Location is a big factor in this for the restaurant and for the clientelle. I don't know the Starbucks in question, so I will not speak beyond my knowledge base, but it is about location. I have been in the valley 23 years, driven in and around Fresno 2-3 times a week, (and not just Blackstone), and I could not tell you were Koffeeheads used to be.

Maybe this is more about people trying to save jobs.

Perhaps -- but that wasn't really expressed in the story. I saw the picture or someone writing "Don't close - I love Starbucks." Seems more like brand loyalty to me.

the location mentioned (herndon and marks) not surprised....the worst service there....it all matters....
Look inside first...there is always a reason.

All i have to say is: THANK YOU!!
i was pissed when Koffeeheads went out of business. i went there everyday afterschool when they were at first and bullard. and it is just stupid that there are so many Starbucks in Riverpark. all in the same corner. its so dumb. starbucks is yummy and all, but the local coffee shops are generally better.

Only 600? For shame.

I just realized who the people are who are trying to "save" the Herndon and Marks Starbucks. The same people that said they were Bulldog Baseball fans after the Dogs won the CWS.

"The same people that said they were fans after the Dogs won the CWS" what does that even mean? Anyways this is just another example of the nature of things in this town. The semi-well off north of Shaw/Clovis folk sit around and encourage projects such as another Best Buy or more T-mobile stores. All while a mall in mid Fresno continues to resemble a B-movie sci-fi version of the White House occupied by low ranking politicians, and government agencies a plenty. Now how about those Diamond Dogs?

I live north of Shaw. North of Alluvial, actually. Can't say I've ever advocated for a new Starbucks, or another Best Buy or another T-Mobile.

My mom lives by the Starbucks that Mike's talking about. I've never heard her advocate for a new Starbucks, or another Best Buy or another T-Mobile, either.

Now how about those people who make generalizations based on geography?

i just realized that i'm going to make generalizations. about people using incomplete sentences.

(and i hope. that people don't comment. about my comments. without capitalization.)

but, really, on what basis are you making the connection between the people trying to save a franchise coffee shop and people who bandwagoned a national champion team?

Ed, are you making reference to this nonsensical comment you just left on the Paris Hilton post?

"good stuff. while i have a strong dislike for paris hilton, i like her more the perez hilton. and, i appreciate it that she is in on the joke her."

I'm assuming the question is aimed at me ed and not Justa since I'm the one who brought it up.

First off, sorry about the incomplete sentences. I didn't really know how to write it properly, so I just typed that.

What I was trying to say is that I find it funny that there is so much support for this store now since it's closing. The execs at SB corporate HQ most likely closed it due to lack of business (sure as hell can't be cause there is one about a mile north of it). So now there are people showing support since it's closed and wanting the store back. Where were they when this was open where they most likely have done some good? Just like how there aren't many people at a regular season Bulldogs baseball game, but as soon as they received national attention, everyone is a huge fan of them.

I grew up on the North side of town(north east to north west), and don't think that generalizations fit everyone on the north side, but for some reason folks on the north side do seem to have alienated themselves from the lives of others. Whether it is their alienation from those who live and carry out their lives south of shaw(or whatever the dividing line might actually be). Or their alienation from those who work amongst them at the various chain stores. At least Fresno had local coffee stores before Starbucks, and low wage workers in these coffee houses were at least afforded a truer sense of community and the right not to be a corporate robot.

I remember days of Intermezzo, Java, Krakatoa, and even an amazing independent coffee house on the northside at Champlain and Perrin for a while. Since then other amazing spots like Kern St., Koffeeheads, and now Java Wava have faded out of business. There is no up cry even though these places have better coffee, more community, and more humanity than Starbucks will ever figure out how to design into their store.

Before Starbucks was at Marks & Herndon that lot was undoubtedly a fig orchard. It was much better of in that phase of its development. Wake up and smell the coffee folks, if ya want to complain about a local loss in that area. You should cry over the rumored(possibly already happened)loss of Moynihans Pub. That place was an amazing place to get a drink, and represents much more of a loss for Fresno than any Starbucks. We do have somewhere over 30 Starbucks right now and I think one only need ride their bike or walk a few blocks in any direction from the closed down Herndon and Marks location to find another Starbucks(Bullard & West, Herndon & Palm, and I am sure some are west and north too).

I hope that the Bee sees fit to cover this conversation in print, as I think that it is highly valuable to our community to have this debate over development out in the open. Otherwise our city will never grow out of its division, white flight, and distorted development.

more later - irlandeso

ps - I really hope that the Moynihans Pub rumors our unfounded... I am not much of a drinker, especially on the north side, but I love me some Beamish... Save our PUB!!!

The Marks and Herndon store is closing because it's a difficult location to get into, and there's no parking there, and it's not a drive through.

The First and Shields store is closing because their lease is up in December.

None of the employees are losing their jobs. All of the district managers have agreed to accept the partners from the stores that are closing, so it's like getting a new person at a store without having to train them.

I'm a former Barista, and I trained at M&H before I was one of the original partners to open 1&S. While it's sad to see both of those stores go, it's necessary for business reasons and profitability. When Howard Shultz took over the company again, he wanted everyone to get back to the roots of Starbucks, which is the coffee. All of the other crap like the music, books and breakfast sandwiches are all from the former management. As far as I'm concerned, all of the non-coffee related items could go away, and there wouldn't even be a blip in sales.

I could care less about Starbucks. I don't like their coffee or the fact that they're on every streetcorner but after seeing the effects layoffs can have on a company, I'm more inclined to worry about where all these people are going to find work.

michael,
great answer, thanks. now i see the connections you were intending.

hmac,
damn you for proofreading my comments!

Sorry, Ed - I couldn't resist.

You shouldn't have thrown over Mike Oz's party for that Amish wedding. Your buddy Adam worked his way onto my good side (or something less "that's what she said"-ish), so he gets a snark pass from me for awhile.

Booyah!

oh i already heard hmac. real blog fodder stuff. but i'll not speak of it here...

I did not mean to generalize everyone on that side of town, but it obvious that the majority of people out there do love them some Save Marts right by there house,or maybe a starbucks or something that does not require them to travel anywhere south of shaw. I guess thats how the world turns in this town though. Hoepfully when Orange County... oops!??? North Fresno notices and repents its sins against economy and community. It will wake up and be able to get rid of the double take of corperate stores that occupies over 30% of there land.

Oh and irlandeso.. Javawava is still open and doing great business right across the street from Fresno High.

Yes. I had a "Did they just say Fresno?" moment.

I was the manager at both Java Cafe and Kern Street Coffee for many years.
When Java closed down it was not only sad for the original owner but for the staff and community as well. we didnt have the benefit of being absorbed into another location we just said good-bye and left.
I was then recruited into Kern Street Coffee Company. While i left 3 years before it closed, it still touched me deeply and left me feeling a strange loss and feelings of disappointment.
From what i've seen, owning a local businessis a very slippery slope. We had huge support and loyalty from the surrounding community of business people patronizing us daily. However, it just wasnt enough.
Until a city plants their feet and sticks firmly to the "support local businesses" mentality, large corporations like Starbucks will kill em every time.
Fresno we have to stick together!!
and yes, i'm guily as i slurp my $2 sugar free iced vanilla coffee from McDonalds.

This needed to be said. Thanks for reminding people that slavish devotion to a corporation (resulting in money leeching out of the Valley) isn't really something to be proud of.

"But there was a time not long ago when Starbucks stores were popping up all over the place, sometimes three or four in a one-mile radius, and putting the mom-and-pop coffee joints out of business."

Not true.

Other than the entire premise of your article being false, great job.

Yeah cause an article from slate.com proves that huge corporations don't drive mom and pop shops out of business. Explain that to Kern Street, Java Cafe, Koffeeheads, and anyone else who isn't around. I'm sure that will make them feel better.

To echo what Michael said, the Slate article is well and good, but at one point there were four Starbucks within about a one-mile radius of Koffeeheads. When that fourth one opened, Koffeeheads had to close.

It's covered in a video that I linked to in the above post.

So yeah, while business people might be able to twist studies in whatever direction they want, the point of my column is true: People in Fresno are campaigning to save a corporate coffee shop (of which there are 40 more in this town), but local businesses often don't get that same support.

Thank you for speaking up on this non-issue! I couldn't believe the amount of space and energy wasted on the original story. I think one less caffeine-induced pit stop serves this community well. What is Starbucks promoting anyway? Legal speed? Give me a break! And let's not forget about what Starbucks is doing to the coffee growers in other countries...buying up land and reselling it so locals can't afford to own/work their own land. I and my social circle boycott Starbucks everyday and will continue to do so.

What about Jungle Juice? They are popping up all over the place and before you know it people will be up in arms over their eventual close. Support the local businesses and not just a chain. Come on people, there are enough chain stores.

Ok, so here's the plan. Starbucks is great at having shots of celebs with a cup in hand.
Our local places need to do the same. So, we can't afford to have one of the Olsen Trolls to wander about, but there's a little celeb following right on this site. I say that Hmac, Oz, Felicia, and perhaps even the upstanding Munroe should be 'caught' exiting local establishments. In return for a free java there are pictures posted of our celebs with cup in hand, or exiting the front door. Maybe Heather should be trying to 'sneak' out the back door ( be sure said door has a sign on it)...
All the kids will follow... having to at least touch the counter that Mike ordered his coffee from.... having to be seen with the cool cup just as Felicia did, while wearing her most faboo big jeans.
Have cameras ready! Catch your local celeb at only the hottest local establishments.
Bee-autiful people,put your status to work.