As Seabury students were slumbering here, there and everywhere this summer, in Lawrence the loud thunder of construction and roasting of beans were palpable. Starbucks was in the news a lot in the spring as they were under heat for their refusal to divest their money from Israel. The CEO of Starbucks, along with other businesses who also were continuing their investments, reported serious dips in their sales. This was mainly due to the boycotts that were called for nationally to show support for Palestine. As we are fortunate enough to live in a lively college town, there was a big push for activism, which caused Starbucks in Lawrence to lose customers as well. Starbucks, already home to eight locations in Lawrence, opened its ninth store this summer on 6th Street. This begs the question: are there too many Starbucks in Lawrence?
Sophomore Ka’Neisha Price, who often frequents Starbucks, believes there is a reason behind the monopoly: “I think the only reason that there are so many and that they’re growing [in Lawrence] is because people like it. I feel like if they didn’t like it, they wouldn’t be able to keep on growing,” she comments. “I feel like they’re spread out mostly because, if we only had one, then people would have to drive all the way across town just to get Starbucks but there’s two right by my house in either direction.” If you do happen to stop in, Price also shares her usual order. “I switch up between four or five different things every time. Probably a vanilla iced latte or the caramel ribbon crunch frappuccino.”
Additionally, freshman Madi Walter believes there is comfort in knowing a menu and what you are ordering. “I think it’s more convenient because wherever I am, there’s one near me, and if there were a bunch of different ones then I wouldn’t be able to just know what I wanted. I would have to read every menu everywhere I go and it would take longer.”
In contrast, junior Xeva Oldridge believes that Starbucks does not give customers the bang for their buck. “We need more local coffee shops if anything … there are too many coffee places that are stopping our support of local businesses. And Starbucks really isn’t that good because their coffee is over-roasted anyways. And if we’re all just going to add a bunch of sugar into milk, I can do that at home and it doesn’t have to be $8.”
While eighth grader Bailey Sparks is a fan of Starbucks, she agrees with some of Oldridge’s critiques. “They should bring down their prices. I like [local coffee houses], but they should get refreshers and better food. They only have pastries and stuff, but Starbucks has eggs and bacon,” she says.
Sixth grader Evan Adams, even though he is not a Starbucks fan himself, believes that it is just a fact of life in a college town to have so many locations. “I think it’s so popular and it’s up there with public storage spaces because we are in a city that has a really big college, so a lot of college students want and need coffee in order to stay up.” Adams disagrees with Sparks and would like to see more variety in Starbucks regarding their food. “I’d like to see different kinds of food. I know that is kind of like their main rival, but maybe something more like donuts or pastries.”
Wherever you fall on the spectrum of loving or hating coffee, Oldridge’s view can be applicable to all drink-lovers: “I think it’s always better to try something new because what if you discover something that you like more? I even tried something the other day, which I really disliked, but now I know that I will never get it again. If Starbucks specifically is going to have all these crazy new holiday flavors, why not try them?”
Only time will tell whether these new Starbucks will survive with the continuous boycotts and local-coffee lovers here in Lawrence.
