Despite the success of the 125th Street Starbucks, Harlem hasn’t had the stamina to maintain another Starbuck’s location even with the rapid growth of the neighborhood. Some of you may remember that there used to be a Starbucks around 137th and Broadway a number of years back. According to Curbed.com the Starbucks on 102nd Street (debatably considered the outskirts of Harlem) also spilled the beans. Does the ‘buck stop at 125th Street? Is there enough cream for the coffee in Harlem? Has the amount of business at the present location outpaced it’s size? Does Harlem even need a chain of franchises or does the lack of stores simply open the door of opportunity for independent small businesses like Sugarhill Java and Cafe Bonjour. Is there something else brewing behind the scenes? Chime in.
Related: Seattlepi.com :: Siddity in the City [blog]
Archives: Cafes
Filed under: Cafes
Stumble It!
In my opinion the “Starbucks” does stop there.
That corner appears the most highly traveled with business such as Staples, and other famous retail stores. There is also traffic heading to the Metro North trains and the office of President Clinton which brings tourist, all these things make 125th and Lenox Ave a business magnet for Starbucks.
When I first came to Harlem, I thought that the Starbucks on 125th would be only filled with tourists and such. That has not been the case. People love coffee, so I think that a Starbucks in any major commerical area of Harlem would be a success. I could easily see a Starbucks in the 116th / Lenox area, or the City College area.
I can’t justify starbuck prices (and I do well). Starbucks strategy is to get you to fall into a habitual pattern and spend $50-$100/month with them. It’s very common for daily Starbuck customers to spend $1,000/year with them.
At what point do you re-think this and run it through your financial strategic future? Invest in a excellent coffee maker, grinder, and stainless steel thermos. Might cost you a whopping $75 tops. $10-$15/month in beans from Fairway or where ever. Spend the 2 minutes in the morning to get your coffee on.
The $750/year you won’t be giving to Starbucks over the counter per year? Well you can still buy Starbucks, but pay Charles Schwab and buy SBUX (securities). These caffeine addicts & lazy people are hooked and SBUX is a strong buy.
You can have your cake (or coffee) and eat to!
[...] “Maybe you ought to move uptown where you’d be safer,” is a line from “Coffee Break,” a short story in The Best of Simple, by Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes. On the corner of 145th Street between Bradhurst and 8th Avenue, on the former site of an unoccupied building and adjoining empty lot, his namesake condominum development is becoming one of the most attractive new properties in the once barren area. With penthouses sitting on top and glass encased prime retail space below, The Langston sits primly across from a Duane Reade, Pathmark and Jackie Robinson Park. On an opposite corner is a vacant space that advertises the new home of Maroons, opening summer of 2005. Speaking of prime retail space, an undisclosed inside source has informed UPTOWN flavor that the retail anchors will be Citibankon the 8th Avenue side, The Gap in the space above and Starbucks on the Bradhurst corner. If you remember, we presented the question as to whether Harlem could successfully accommodate another Starbucks just the other day. But back to Jesse B. Semple, the main character in Hughe’s stories known for hanging out in bars and not coffeehouses. During a coffee break Jesse’s boss asked, “Now that you can vote and have a congressman and all, what does The Negro want?” Semple informed his boss that the “problem” came down to white folks. Though they let a few Blacks integrate with them, they had no intention of integrating back. Jesse’s boss retorted, but what about all that crime, and Jesse responded “But it’s only poor folks that get robbed. We don’t have no multi-million dollar frauds or Hope Diamond thefts. Maybe you ought to move uptown where you’d be safer.” [...]