Starburnt Wars: Episode II

There’s not a whole lot I can add to Quinn’s entry regarding the arrival of Starburnt to the Outer Banks. Ditto pretty much covers it. Please bear with me though on a few more insights. Like Katherine, I’ll hit a Starbucks when I’m near one and in dire need of a fix. The good thing about this giant white shark of a franchise is that when you walk in for a caramel machiatto you know exactly what you‘ll get, they’re real good with the consistency factor and let me tell you why that’s such a biggie for me. That independent awesomely cool Duck, NC coffeeshop that KQ mentioned- Duck’s Cottage- just happens to be where I’ve worked the past five years. We’re a coffeeshop/bookstore and while I am the manager of the bookstore aspect of the business, I also know my way around an espresso machine and can sling drinks with any of the barristas at SB. Due to this unique experience, I’ve also developed some pretty decent taste buds when it comes to lattes, americanos and iced coffee. We get our beans from a small roaster in Lexington, VA. We get them once a week and often take delivery the day after they’ve been roasted. We’re talking fresh prince fresh, always good, never burnt. We also make our iced drinks with a cold brewed method called the coffee toddie. Meaning that the espresso concentrates we use for iced drinks have never been through a heat process. Most other coffee shops pull hot shots of espresso, dumps it over ice, adds any mixers and whips it across the counter. When that hot shot hits ice, the oils of the bean reencapsulate resulting in an almost unavoidable, very consistent bitter aftertaste to your iced mocha, latte, whatever. With our process, you never get that bitterness (which is probably why people stand in 10 person lines in the summer to get one of our iced drinks.) There’s also an art to working an espresso machine which oftentimes is never developed in your average small coffee shop but which, through the wonders of corporate America, seems to be part of the training at SB which, naturally, gives a level of consistency that will usually satisfy a coffee drinker’s palate. I’ve watched plenty of people running machines at various independent establishments and have had to literally force myself to keep from walking around the counter and asking if I could just please do it myself. My boss has read reports that claim when a Starbucks opens it actually helps other coffee shops in the adjacent area because it ‘turns more people on’ to the wonders of coffee, coffee drinks, etc. But the OBX is a pretty small place and while my store is just far enough away from them to probably avoid any adverse effects, there are plenty of others who could be hurt. Here’s what I like to remind people about shopping in my independent bookstore that applies to this situation as well and is good to remember no matter where you live and shop. Dollars spent in locally owned businesses have three times the impact on your community as dollars spent in chains. Locally owned businesses build strong neighborhoods by sustaining communities. They require relatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services. A marketplace of small businesses guarantees innovation, low prices and a broader range of product choices over the long term. Local ownership means important decisions are made locally by people who will feel the direct effects on their community. Okay, lecture over. But if you want to find out more information about the importance of shopping locally regardless of where you live, check out www.amiba.net, the site for the American Independent Business Alliance. You might just find your eyes opened even more about your skinny, half-caf, extra dry, one Splenda LARGE cappuccino. (Note: we don’t speak Starbuck at our store; therefore, we only have three sizes- small, medium and large.)