YAY!!!! Starbucks = love. Awesome post. *happy*

I never really understood what you were doing on Buffalo Rising anyway, but I was willing to see where they were going with your being on there. Then you write some sillyness like this singing the praises of Starbucks and dissing other local coffee shops and cafe's? And on top of that, you don't get why they asked you to take it down?

You're a kid, so I hope you grow out of it but you're arrogant and clueless. Buffalo Rising celebrates local small business and you don't understand why the editors asked you to take this stupid thing down? And it's not the only one. That Latina article needs to come off the BR/Buzz site as well. Personally, I think they need to take down Buzz completely and maybe let you come back when you grow up a little.

Good luck with that.

Jesus Christ! Does nobody see that this whole article is crammed with sarcasm? I was being facetious. I do favor Starbucks to Spot and really, what's wrong with expressing my opinions? I also think that I was being completely honest in the Latina's article. It is not as nice as people make it out to be.

Dear Max,

I agree with you. I just moved to Virginia from Brooklyn, and while I was in Brooklyn, I bought most of my coffee from local coffee shops. Some local shops make great coffee. Not all coffee shops, however, do. Here in Virginia Beach, there are independent coffee shops, but neither their coffee nor their atmospheres are particularly good. Just the other day I was feeling down, and at that moment, I was psyched that there was a Starbucks down the street. I knew that I would be able to get a Pumpkin Spiced Latte, enjoy it, and do the crossword.

I share your frustration in hearing people criticize chain stores just because they are chain stores. And like you said, chain stores were once local stores too. Further, they provide stable jobs and benefits for many people.

One of the reasons that I enjoy visiting and reading your website is because of the opinions that you are not afraid to share. Thank you.

wow...i dont even think im that low!

Ah... well, Starbucks is so pricey over here, compared to um, coffee you made yourself? And so, only the snooty upper-class people go there. Kinda.

I just dislike coffee. Or tea. Or carbonated drink. I think that's a great thing. :P

How does a company under attack for exploiting cheap, foreign labor by activist, environmental, and church groups become the belle of the socially responsible ball? During 1994, Starbucks suffered embarrassing grassroots protests because it sourced beans from export houses that paid Guatemalan workers below a living daily wage, about $2.50 a day. The company is no worse than the average wholesaler, but it has a better-than-average reputation as a new-breed, values-driven corporation. So when protesters leafleted Starbucks stores and targeted its annual meeting, a peace plan was offered. Last year, Starbucks became the first company in the agricultural commodities sector to announce a "framework" for a code of conduct.

There are more than 30,000 farms in Guatemala, one of 20 coffee-supplying countries. Starbucks was targeted not because it could change the labor status quo--it is a bit player in the coffee business--but because of its high public profile. The increasingly visible protests left Starbucks with little choice but to pass its code, and it cost the company little. We were "prodded" into it, notes David Olsen, Starbucks' senior vice president, diplomatically.

max i wasn't sure you knew this either but here is a bit more of a break down of starbucks. i also want to let you know my one uncle is a huge partner in starbucks and the other owns spot coffee.

still in many areas Starbucks has been accused of finding a successful, local, mom-and-pop brew and setting up shop next door. For the caffeine-needy pedestrian, the choice may be one of taste, or convenience. Many say chains are for the most part bad for a neighborhood business district.

There is some truth to this. Say you buy a cup-a-joe at Starbucks, some of the money stays in town, paid to local employees who spend it in local stores. Some goes to distributors, local and regional, but some also goes to Seattle. The employees who spend the money they made at Starbucks will also be sending a portion of that money out of town.

If you instead buy your coffee at a local joint, owned by people who live in town, a larger percentage stays in the local economy. The only ways to grow a local economy are to make at home what you otherwise would have imported, or export something to other places. When a local coffee shop is replaced by Starbucks, the opposite is occurring, you are importing what otherwise would have been made at home.

I'm not for local business squashing at all, and I'm not exactly for Starbucks opening next to local places on purpose. I just think Starbucks is better at doing the whole coffee shop thing than any of the other places that Buffalo has to offer. Starbucks is much more my style. I'm not into the atmosphere at Spot at all and I'm not really into the other places, either. I do go to other local coffee shops like Spot and Cafe Aroma, but I do prefer Starbucks.

When I'm talking about Starbucks vs. Local, I'm not talking about chain vs. local in general. I'm comparing the overall service, atmosphere, and product. Besides, throughout most of the article, I was exaggerating slightly.

Wow! Finally someone that shares my opinion about Starbucks. Hey, I'm all for supporting local business and spend my money there whenever possible but let's not get carried away. My personal opinion is that Starbucks is superior for all of the same reasons mentioned. But so what, it's just MY opinion. What cracks me up every time I hear an argument like this is that nobody ever mentions that Starbucks set the standard and made it acceptable for places like Spot to charge 4 bucks for a latte and close to 2 dollars for a large black coffee. If the bar had not been raised, coffee houses would still be charging .75 cents a cup instead of $1.75 or 2 bucks.

I will admit to drinking a lot of Spot's coffee simply because the Elmwood store is a convenient meeting place during my day. I just wish their stores were cleaner and the coffee tasted like Starbucks!