Two-and-a-half years ago, I complained about the global domination plans of Starbuck’s. It revolved around a piece of Starbuck’s swag — a coffee cup that showed a defaced version of Gustave Caillebotte’s painting Paris, Rainy Day. In the background you could see Starbuck’s signs all over the view of Paris.
Well, it’s happening. Starbuck’s has made its first in-roads into Paris, to mixed reviews. Many people see this attack on Parisian cafe culture as another expression of U.S. cultural imperialism. Others are happy to see something new in town.
I have no evidence to back it up, but I suspect most of the complaints about Starbuck’s in Paris come from people outside of Paris (and indeed, outside of France). Complainers and idealists (like me) live under the illusion that cafe society in Paris remains much as it was in the past and remains in our imaginations. We love to read about Henry Miller in his flea-bag hotels, and Hemingway and Fitzgerald knocking back watered-down verres in Montparnasse. We envision Gauloise-smoke infused late-night cafes with little round tables and grumpy mustachioed men clad in long white aprons wiping glasses behind a zinc bar.
Well, those places still exist, but they’re in rapid decline, in both number and quality. As with tavern culture in Montreal, it still exists but most people prefer more contemporary things. In Paris, Starbucks is offering something new, and something American. Parisians (and the French in general) are famous for their ironic love-hate relationship with American culture, so who’s to say they shouldn’t partake of it?
There is some evidence that the decline of traditional Parisian cafe culture is an inside job. Indeed, contemporary Parisians are not happy with the state of the classic Parisian cafe. They complain about bad service, high prices, and a lack of courtesy from those mustachioed men behind the bar. Here’s BBC’s take on the story.
To Starbuck’s credit (and that’s a phrase I will rarely use), they have a knack for creating nice welcoming spaces when they want to. The Starbuck’s cafes on Ave. du Parc and on Ave. Mont-Royal are really nice places to pass some time. The seating is comfortable, the lighting is good, and the (non-smoking) atmosphere is quite agreeable. They’re even certified as a “green” business by the Fonds d’action Québecois pour le développment durable.
Why shouldn’t Parisians have a taste of that? Who says a Parisian cafe has to be dour and smoky?
Have I changed my tune on Starbuck’s? Not at all. I still think “small is beautiful,” and “shop local” I believe that the globalization of culture and commodities is a nasty thing — especially when that globalization is dominated by an economic superpower. Make no mistake — any interest that Starbuck’s has in culture is just to assure its market positioning and dominance.
The solution is easy. The cafes of Paris need to take a long hard look at themselves and their clients. There will always be a demand for the classic Parisian cafe, and those which mop their floors and treat their customers well will survive and prosper while the gnarly ones fall off the map.
But there is also a demand for a more contemporary kind of cafe. The question is “why do they have to import them?” Are the French incapable of creating their own chain of comfortable and snazzy contemporary cafes? Given the annoying phoniness of Starbuck’s coffee culture and given the general lameless of its coffee, you’d think the Parisians would stand a good chance if they put their minds to it. Let’s hope they do.
After all, what we’re really losing if Starbuck’s wins in Paris (or anywhere) is diversity. Chain restaurants like Starbuck’s and McDonald’s and Pizza Hut promote sameness. Sameness, or more precisely, standardization, is good for things like web development and aircraft fittings, but when it comes to culture, and in particular, food culture, it is only desirable to the dim-witted.
Why would I want the coffee (or the pizza or the beer) on one side of the street to be exactly the same as it is on the other side of the street? What about accounting for different tastes? What about the process of discovery of new things? Much of this is already lost on this side of the pond, due to the predominance of business efficiency and marketing and the proliferation of franchise restaurants, but will the same fate befall France and the rest of Europe?
Will the new generation of post-globalized Parisians not blink when their café au lait is replaced by “Double frappa-mochca what-the-fuckachino?”
Also see:
28 thoughts on “Manifest Destiny in a Cup; Part 2”
I’m guilty of entering a Starbucks in Auckland, NZ, but I blame my wife who was desperate for an iced coffee (frappathingyo?). NZ hasn’t fully succumbed to the American mall culture but it’s definitely heading that way. Give me a good local business over a global powerhouse anyday.
Mark
I truly don’t understand the appeal, nice interior decorating aside. I decided to try the Starbucks in the Faubourg one day, and got something that cost twice as much as it did next door and had half as much flavor. Why do people choose this? Is it mystique? Is it snobbery?
Me = don’t fricking get it.
Bill
Howdy!
Speaking of Taverne culture…
This site is wonderful, and if anybody would like to accompany me as I systematically verify their rankings, you’re most welcome.
Play Ball!
Zeke
Bill, some of us would rather give money to an evil Seattle corporation than to an evil Toronto corporation. Granted, I prefer to do neither.
Blork, I think it’s swell that you’ve accepted the “smaller is better” mantra. You gotta make the most with what you’ve got.
Michel
But, don’t you care about what you’re buying with the deciding dollar? I won’t drink expensive, tasteless coffee to prove a point; I’ll drink the coffee that has earned my dollar by being the tastiest and reasonably priced.
Bill
I am a Starbucks convert. I am not proud of it, but the local coffee chain here in Columbus Ohio is terrible. Bad coffee, dirty interiors, and cheap furniture. For me, the key to this post was about local business stepping up to the plate. For the first year Starbucks was in my neighborhood I avoided it and encouraged everyone else to avoid it. But after a number of bad experiences at the local coffee shop, I started going to Starbucks. The local chain has done nothing to compete. They don’t compete on price, product, or atmosphere. It’s very discouraging.
Jason
A great piece, very fair (trade).
The Europeans started Starbuckizing themselves (to moderate success) way before that. Chains like Caffé Nero are all over England, for instance. Starbucks let the locals do the proof-of-market and now they can just walk in and occupy a fair portion of the niche — smart business sense.
Of course, the introduction of Starbucks into a neighborhood doesn’t mean all the local cafés will die. Far from it. In my old neighborhood on Monkland, the Second Cup killed a well-known, but much weaker, unfocused and inconsistent local competitor (Franni’s). Starbucks moved in where Franni’s was and both cafés are thriving. The loss here is yes, diversity, as well as the net profit staying in the community, but arguably 5-6 times more people are employed now that both stores are there, and each enjoys a loyal clientele.
From the turnover on Monkland, it really appears that differentiation is the name of the game, even if you are in the same category. The more specialized you are, the more likely you are to survive. The more you try to appeal to everyone, the more likely that a competitor that does one thing better will come along and take that portion of the business.
What I find bizarre is how our local Montreal chains (Van Houtte, Brulerie St-Denis) aren’t everywhere that you think they really ought to be. I think it might be that these businesses aren’t focus on expanding their chains, but are sidetracked in other areas such as the coffee service / machine business (Van Houtte in particular) or supplying retail grocery stores and restaurants (BSD).
Van Houtte’s been recently buying up many American coffee service companies, for instance. But their street presence here in Montreal is next to nil; there is little to no uniform standard from one franchise location to another; they tend to get very small, hole-in-the-wall locations on the street and/or in lesser shopping center food courts. And I can’t remember ever having good coffee there!
I think it comes down to focus: Starbucks does good, strong coffee, gets the little details right, keeps the bathrooms clean, makes the place like a living room. They put a lot of profit into acquiring desirable real estate, too.
It’s easy to focus on the McSameness of chains, and I do lament them. We do have several great local cafés and restos (Toi, Moi et Café just opened near me, and they’re great, loved them on Laurier, plus they do market-based cuisine). I think in the end Starbucks’ focus is not fighting good cafés, but ‘bad coffee experiences’ in general — I mean, how many times have you gone to even a medium-expensive restaurant and gotten cardboardy or soapy coffee? And on that score, they win.
aj
I don’t shun the coffee chains on purpose but if I have an alternative choice I go elsewhere. I’m also lucky that we make amazing coffee at home.
I used to work in a Second Cup and made great coffee, given what was available, but in my humble opinion, if you want low grade, sloppily made coffee go to a coffee shop chain. It’s exactly like trying to get a juicy, high-quality burger at McDonald’s. It may be impossible but what you DO get is fast service and never having to go far to find one.
Starbuck’s offers the same thing. They allow business owners to start-up a business with limited fuss, as they provide the interior design, textiles, equipment, shipments, and uniforms. It’s all a pre-packaged business, prêt à porter, which translates to the clientele as being able to always find a Starbucks on any corner and getting their coffee fast.
A small test of quality is how you smell when you leave a coffee shop. Large chains like Starbucks are like nightclubs as you leave reeking of the place. Smaller, high-quality cafes don’t have that effect on your clothing and hair.
When I was in Vancouver I made a startling realisation. While I could find a coffee shop on any corner in any neighbourhood, it was nearly impossible to find a GOOD cup of coffee. The one good cup I did find was in a small little bakery. What I couldn’t do was escape Starbucks. They are literally everywhere out there and outnumber every other chain store! If that happens (though I doubt it) to Paris, I can see how that would degrade an aspect of the Parisian experience, which is exactly why tourists SHOULD be pissed.
Paolo
Actually, Bill, I should have been more precise. I frequent neither chain. I prefer greasy spoon coffee where they know what I mean when I ask for a cup o joe.
Michel
I have yet to find a really great latte here in Montreal…any suggestions?
Back in Seattle, the culture that bore Starbucks unto the world is still alive and well. In the part of downtown that I lived in most recently, there were 4 fantastic independent cafes within 4 blocks near my place, all serving coffee from independent local roasters. There was only one Starbucks…
Randy
Paolo, your experience in Vancouver is exactly what I’m talking about and why I really don’t like seeing chain joints move in like virsuses and take over.
Part of the problem is that most people are more concerned with their own convenience than with quality. We live in a culture that is dominated by branding, so many (most?) people respond to brands more than they respond to the product itself.
I’ve only had a few Starbuck’s coffees in my life. Most were OK but nothing special. One (latte at O’Hare Airport) was so bad I could barely drink it.
Presonally, I don’t go for these crazy and highly sweetened things that many of the chains are pushing. I like a good straightforward latte (or cafe au lait), or even a good old standard cup of (strong) joe. (Or a cappuchino at breakfast time).
My preferred coffees in Montreal are (in no particular order):
– Indigo Cafe (in the bookstore): Good coffee, very good latte.
– Toi, Moi, & Cafe: sinfully good cafe au lait
– Open Da Nite: great no-frills old fashioned lattes.
– Cafe Romolo (on Bernard): same as Open Da Nite
– Cafe Italia: the most authentic cappuchino in town (but I’m so rarely near there in the morning…)
blork
My favorite coffee joint: the Croissanterie (Ste. Catherine near St. Mathieu). Eli makes amazing machine coffee and lattes so good I cry when deprived of them for long periods of time.
And I really like the chai latte at the Indigo cafe.
Bill
Eli also makes fantasic egg on a bun. As long as that place can remain in business, I’m a happy boy (hubba hubba hubba).
Michel
Mmm, Eli ham and cheese with mustard on one of his freshly baked croissants….
Bill
Used to be cigarettes and now it’s coffee. You’re just a bunch of addicts. Local or chain, they got you and your wallet. Give it up and find freedom.
Yeah, I know. Non-coffee drinkers are very unpopular people.
Martine
Unless of course they make delicious entrees, in which case we can find it in our hearts to cut them a little slack. ;D
Bill
So, Martine, it’s safe to assume that you’ve given up chocolate?
Or butter? Or meat? Or alcohol? Or any of the thousands of items out there that someone has decreed is vice?
It must be incredible to feel that freedom of which you speak.
Michel
Dubious taste alert: I laughed like a fiend at this image from a certain notorious website. (Not my work!)
My take: I am a caffeine addict. In my own haunts I’ll always pick the local joint over the chain. On the road, I’ll caffeinate where I must: when I was in Toronto for a week and a half in April (during the Dalai Lama’s visit) the closest café to that waterfront convention centre – it was a twenty-minute hike under an expressway and through a historic fort – was a Second Cup, so they had my business.
Brief thought about Starbucks in Paris: wanna bet they have nicer bathrooms than the picturesque local joints?
Anyone got opinions on Java U? Are they local only? I don ‘t mind the one on Saint-Denis near my place. Usually decent background music, and pleasant lighting.
Kate M.
Giving up chocolate, Michel? And what? Keep all these children from working in poor countries? I wouldn’t dream of it.
Martine
Kate, that picture is of dubious taste, but it’s hilarious!
I’ve been to the Java U on Sherbrooke in Westmount a few times, but oddly enough I didn’t have coffee. I’m quite sure they’re local, and they do seem to make nice spaces.
I want to state that it’s a bit hard to hate Starbuck’s because they do make nice cafes, and they do clean the bathrooms, etc. They also have nice corporate policies centering around community involvement, ecological sustainability, etc. They’re not nearly as easy to hate as, for example, WalMart.
But there’s that quest for global domination thing, and the quest for international coffee sameness. Also, as someone who works in corporate marketing, I can imagine how much of that is from the heart and how much of it is corporate PR bullshit.
blork
Being French, I am (was) not too scared about Starbuck and co invading latin Europe.
They sell completely a different thing. Cafés sell alcohol , petit noirs, and often papers and cigarettes and they are like pubs in UK or depanneurs here. it’s a local thing.
To me, it’s hard to believe they will succeed in France.
I am sure they will succeed in a way, but they will not replace the old cafe. They will probably succeed in big towns or in city centres only, nothing local (for decades I would predict, as things move so slowly in Europ). They will sell new stuffs that other cafés do not sell: all those fancy latte and whatthefuckacinos… which is great: new things offered.
I am just worried about the nutritive quality of all those drinks. To me, when I see those almost 1 liter brown drinks, it looks a bit like the unlimited soft drink offer at mcdonald’s. Sugar, sugar, sugar… bigger is better. To me (I only drink expresso and sometime greasy spoon coffees) , coffee is a digestive thing. Allongé is half a (small) cup. We talk about ml or cl here. Not pop corn bucket sized cups.
Strangely, I do not think Starbuck coffes are here to last. This wave is so powerfull, and fashionable, I do not think it can last so long. It has to be replaced by something else. I just wonder what it will be. There is so much cash to be made each time. No way they are going to let us simply sip a coffee.
Raoul
I frequent the JavaUs on Queen Mary and Monkland quite often. The coffee is better than Starbucks or Second Cup and the atmosphere is lovely. But it’s no where near as good as Toi, Moi et Cafe or Caffe Italia.
Did someone mention that Toi Moi opened up in a second location? I’m addicted, and must know… is it as good as the first?
Susan
The javaU on Monkland was OK too, but it depended on who was working there. They had some airheaded Westmount teens working there for some time who would completely ignore you as you tried to order something, apparently doing nothing else. But they didn’t last :)
JavaU’s thingy on Rue St-Paul blows big time though. It’s in the space where the old Air du Temps jazz club was (corner St-Francois-Xavier, near the Centaur) – it’s more a chichi bar, they frown at you if you are carrying plastic shopping bags or wearing anything that isn’t Prada. I mean, it’s Java frickin U, people, where do they get off having *reserved tables* for people?
And the place was full of — I kid you not – FLIES. Big honkin’ ones, too. Where do they get off having attitude like that with frickin’ INSECTS everywhere?
Susan, Toi Moi et Cafe now has a location on Notre-Dame just a hair east of Atwater. Not quite as funky decor as the original, but has same great food, fully licensed, open late, and of course, coffee.
aj
Java U has the worst people working there and I’ve been to more than one. They’re the usual type of “whatthefuckdoIknow” or “dontlookatme” service. The coffee is forgettable and so is the food. Nice decor, though.
Personally, I think that if you really enjoy the coffee experience you should invest in the equipment to make it yourself. You can spend as little or as much as you want but once you learn how to do it right, you’ll never want coffee from anywhere else.
On the other hand, if you love the whole cafe thing of drinking OK coffee, while people watching then knock yourselves out at Starbucks.
Paolo
I used to do the sneer-at-Starbucks thing, but that was before I discovered how nice their non-fat latte is. I like to patronize the homegrown businesses, but I can’t tell you how many burnt-tasting, obviously-made-with-old-beans monstrosities I’ve wasted my bucks on in some of those places. Call it the McDonalds Syndrome (standardized, predictable product) – but so be it.
THAT SAID: Very nice place for a fab cap or latte in West LA: Amandine on Wilshire. (It’s a lovely French bakery, so I guarantee you’ll find something fantastic to go with that coffee….)
Susan
EXACTLY : Justemment au JAVA U ,du moins sur Monkland sont
très différent ( because we are talking about “la
différence” )I will always have trouble with language .
And le “savoir -faire” non-français.Je suis québécois FR
Language is a Big issue around being a business in
Québec. I fighted for nothing. But they “hear” and
really fight to be the best.There is a Secound cup, and
Bagel St-Viateur. surronding….A Starbuck dying
Now the service is not from what I understand of all this :
what you desire. Your desire is fast -food coffee , and
clean bathrooms..
Do you have time to taste the coffee ??
A good coffee will be found at that JAVA U . And you will be serve
by different kind of human beeings. They have much more
of the human touch! You can feel at ease, since they
also care for there client.
A client of a day. Or a once time sip at a coffe does
not make you “a client” désolée. You simply did’nt
think about that. You are talking about fast-food
coffees.
It cannot exist.
The best will be La Brûlerie or les Deux Maries.
number 1 : you will be serve a glass of water as soon as you sit down.
number 2 : they will offer the le “café du Jour” (
because they do “la torréfaction” du café”.)a very low price.
I don’t wich them to expand : they are most than
unique ! DO YOU CATCH THIS ?
Like at my JAVA U, there is no time to drink your coffe.
And that’s all there is most the importance.
For coffes of chains business: It is good au Café Dépot
( who as very talented employees. )( and ambience)
It is great at Secound Cup : They were the best for
years. They still have the most experience to give.
I go to my unique JAVA U on Monkland to taste my coffee
every day . The one I prefer: FRENCH ROAST.
They HAD troubles with there employees…Yes !
Sorry but you are forgetting what “La Différence” is.
It also means I can enjoy a coffe anywhere on this beautiful planet.
CHRISTIAN – SHANTI
/ écrivain – poète Montréal, 14 novembre 2004
CHRISTIAN-SHANTI
hi. was just searching for a website for Java U and came across your site. Nice to meet another Montrealer who loves to chat about food.
Had dinner at Java U last night in Westmount, (2nd time) and I think it’s easily in the top 5 restaurants in the west end. (i.e. NDG). Some of the hotspots on Monkland have been a bit lacklustre lately. And with Benedict’s closed (WHAT’S UP WITH THAT and WHO TOLD THOSE PEOPLE AT MESQUITE THAT THEY CAN COOK?), the choice frankly is not great service, loud, and overpriced. (Sorry Monkland people)
Java U Rocks. GREAT service, great food, great atmosphere. (Although we thought yesterday was the nonofficial no smoking day in restaurants, it was still smokey)
Just checking around your site to make sure you’re not the owner of Mesquite, see that you’re from NS, my family hails from Pubnico.
great shots from PMT.
grogeous picture on the 13th.
nice site.
seems you’re not the owner of Mesquite, so i’ll hit Post now.
Cheers!
Louise M
Louise M
I hate to disagree with you because, on the whole, I’m anti-globalization. I think making a buck at the expense of human rights is a very bad thing.
But that is why I like going to Starbuck’s. They are good corporate citizens. Most big companies are not and it pains me that there we can’t do much about it.
However, Starbuck’s, unlike McDonald’s, offers a good product. I’ve had coffee all over the place, including little cafés of diverse ethnic backgrounds, and I like the coffee at Starbuck’s. Plus they treat their employees well, are a progressive company and are very supportive of the communities in which they buy/grow their coffee.
Yes, having only the same 3 chains in every city in the world is undesirable. But having a good standard coffee shop with a progressive green attitude that treats customers and employees well… that’s not too shabby either.
Good coffee shops can still survive if they cater to their clients – and I’ve always been well-catered to when I go there.
George
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