While on vacation in New York City, Christine came across this sad little sign in the window of an indie cafe in the East Village.
Luckily for the shop’s current/future proprietors, this year’s G20 summit is in France. So don’t worry, passively-anti-corporate New Yorkers: soon you’ll almost certainly be free to fret over your Frappuccinos without fear of finding shards of broken glass in your whipped cream.
related: Remember that the cheese loved you more than you loved it!
related: Raging against the little guy
68 responses so far ↓
#1
lily
I honestly don’t see much PA in that note at all.
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:17 pm rating: 22
#2
Paul
Look at what people are drinking inside the store.
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:24 pm rating: 5
#3
courtney
I agree – not PA, just very sad.
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:24 pm rating: 9
#4
Jen
when I first read this I thought it was implying they aren’t broken because hey, at least they’re getting a Starbucks! but then I realized likely those were two separate thoughts…
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:27 pm rating: 7
#5
Jorge Barnes
We are heartbroken, but not broke.
Er… Wait, scratch that. We ARE broke. That’s why we lost the lease, haha! HAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAH *uncontrollable sobbing*
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:31 pm rating: 23
#6
JetJackson
The only way to deal with this is, upon leaving, to hide things in the air con duct that have a propensity to grow mould and stink.
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:58 pm rating: 6
#7
Marcos
I actually live one block away from this place and they will simply move nextdoor. Boohoo, cut the f-ing drama.
Sep 19, 2011 at 11:06 pm rating: 24
#8
anon nony
I live around the corner from them, their new location won’t be next door. It’ll be about 6 blocks away. this isn’t in Nolita, its the East Village. And as a long time resident, I’m not surprised a tourist snapped this photo and thought it was PA. its not. There have been a lot of changes in this area for the worse and its not uncommon for a landlord to force you out by raising your rent, oh about 5k-8k higher than it was before.
Sep 20, 2011 at 1:22 am rating: 8
#9
Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
Man, I hate businesses that grow because they’re successful and therefore must be doing something right. I much prefer badly-run businesses that are barely scraping by.
Sep 20, 2011 at 3:59 am rating: 23
#10
GhostWriter
I try Starbucks coffee about once a year, hoping that they’ve finally decided to stop adding vinegar to every cup they serve, but alas, it’s always the same sour cup.
Sep 20, 2011 at 8:59 am rating: 7
#11
Lizzie
I actually feel kinda bad for the cafe. Yeah, adding the part about Starbucks was a little PA, but I kinda don’t blame them. As for the comment about “real” coffee, I know what you mean. Starbucks coffee tastes like tar. It’s so bitter and no amount of cream or sugar helps. It tastes burnt to me.
Sep 20, 2011 at 9:14 am rating: 8
#12
lilmrsmchenry
How dare that Starbucks lease an available storefront! For shame!
Sep 20, 2011 at 9:57 am rating: 6
#13
Terry
Startbucks serves perfectly serviceable coffee. If you live anywhere there aren’t any cafes, but there’s a Starbucks in a sea of DD and McDonalds, you’ll come to the same conclusion pretty quickly. Their roasting and brewing methods, BTW, are directly derived (some say copied, but whatever) from the people who introduced “real” coffee in the US back when most thought that meant Folgers. Which most of us would still be drinking if it weren’t for people like Alfred Peet, btw.
Frankly, if this cafe couldn’t hack it and lost their lease, that’s really their fault, isn’t it? It has nothing to do with Starbucks or the fact they’re still opening stores in NYC. If the baristas are any good, they’ll get another gig quickly.
http://www.taylorclarkbooks.com/?project=slate-dont-fear-starbucks
Grow up. People who complain about Starbucks have no business drinking coffee in the first place.
Sep 20, 2011 at 2:14 pm rating: 4
#14
Nahhh
I’d tell you about my favorite coffee, but I’m sure most of you have never heard of it.
Sep 20, 2011 at 4:30 pm rating: 6
#15
new yorkuh
Haha, I walked by this place the other day. They actually have multiple signs printed out and taped all over their windows. I think one of the signs is actually GIGANTIC.
The best part (as someone else has already stated) is that they are simply moving across the street.
Sep 20, 2011 at 10:09 pm rating: 4
#16
alex
Well, they’re not only pissed because it got re-leased to a Starbucks, but they found out by a Starbucks contractor who came in and started measuring the space…
Sep 21, 2011 at 10:01 am rating: 1
#17
Amy in Toronto
From what I recall, Australia has an abundance of coffee shops that serve the most beautifully rich, full-bodied Italian coffee that is far superior to the burnt-tasting, too-expensive, have-to-learn-how-to-speak-Starbuckese-before-one-can-have-a-simple-cuppa beverage from Starbucks.
Sep 21, 2011 at 10:08 am rating: 5
#18
Lurker
I have to say that Starbucks seemed to prefer destroying it’s competition to actually competing in the one case I’m aware of. Rather than open up in readily available retail space nearby in Toronto, Cnada, they chose to talk to the landlord and offer a whack of cash, so long as the landlord didn’t ask the current coffee shop to meet the same price – the first the locally owned shop knew was when they were refused the opportunity to renew their lease.
Happily in this case the neighbourhood (university crowd) rebelled and made such a stink Starbucks knew they’d never live it down, so the landlord relented.
Sep 25, 2011 at 1:06 am rating: 2
#19
rc
this location is “The Bean”. located on first avenue and 4th st.
this month this “indie” chain opened a location on broadway and 13th st, and is preparing to open a location on 2nd ave and 5th st in a few months, and 1 more somewhere else. in total there will be at least 3 new “The Bean” locations in the future.
Sep 27, 2011 at 8:12 pm rating: 0
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