A Starbucks on the post office site?
They are busy banning leaf blowers so it must have fallen through the cracks
For background.
https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/id/124642-Starbucks-in-the-Village-?page=1
After perusing that previous thread, I'm getting that the majority of people have no problem with a Starbucks in downtown Maplewood? I'm pretty shocked - we moved here in part to avoid these kinds of chains ( since they're already so ubiquitous everywhere else in our lives)...
- rj
I noticed something interesting a few years ago. Coffee became weaker the further west we traveled.
My brother in law was hospitalized in Pottstown Pa.
We spent several weeks visiting him
Finally I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts a few blocks away
I reasoned that since it was a national chain
The coffee would be standardized
Nope, bought a bunch for the nursing staff
and was surprised that it was brewed to
local standards...........not our stronger Jersey taste
I had a terrific coffee and quiche at a new local "mom and pop" yesterday, and while I wasn't the only customer, it was pretty empty for the time I was there. I had just dropped my car at a repair shop who also said that his business has been quiet lately. Maybe the whole "shop local" thing is more concept than reality.
But...Starbucks? It just feels like the opposite of how I think of downtown Maplewood (notwithstanding the regional Kings store and the bank). It always feels like it represents the homogenization of a town when it gets one, like we're throwing in the towel...
- rj
Starbucks is ubiquitous and popular because, news flash, people like the coffee.
There are a lot of popular chains that I would still be disappointed to see specifically in our quaint downtown...
-rj
The town has no control over which business(es) the owner of a commercial property chooses to lease to unless there is a specific ordinance in place that would prohibit such lease. There is no ordinance in place that prohibit Starbucks occupying the space in question. Starbucks would not be opening in the Village unless they expected to attract sufficient customers to that location to make the business viable. However, if they are wrong and enough members of the community are truly opposed to a Starbucks operating in the Village, the business will not attract sufficient customers to remain open for very long.
I'm sure once it opens it will already be a done deal. I guess it's what the people want but just find it personally disappointing.
---- and a bank? We already got two. On both counts, what a disappointing use of retail space.
But do enough? Sounds like Starbucks is a guilty pleasure many people simply have a taste for - even here in Maplewood :-(
is there no ordinance against chains in our downtown? I thought there was... How did we end up lucky enough to have such great mom and pop shops til now without one?
lukeysboat said:
is there no ordinance against chains in our downtown? I thought there was... How did we end up lucky enough to have such great mom and pop shops til now without one?
No, there is no ordinance against "chains". There is a "fast food" prohibition that was very poorly written by a previous mayor who shall not be named. It will be useless in denying this Starbucks, if it actually to happen.
As for why there hasn't been an influx of chains, it's pretty simple...We're too small for them.
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
---- and a bank? We already got two. On both counts, what a disappointing use of retail space.
Actually we have three banks in the village. Do we know if this will a 4th bank or if one of the three existing banks plans on moving to this location?
Landlords like chain stores - better chance the rent will be paid on time every month. But as pointed out, the town and the spaces are too small for most chains.
Starbucks will be crowded every day, most of the day. Location is perfect for one.
Not sure if the fast food ordinance was poorly written or almost impossible to write. Most people did not want a BK or McDonalds, but did not have a problem with a place like Stony's. I know a lot of people would not mind a smashburger in town.
Given the availability of direct deposit, debit cards, the simplicty of online banking and the prevalence of ATMs, I amazes me that bank branches keep opening.
Of course, we already have one of the largest chains in the world smack in the middle of M/SO. How many houses will have an Amazon box (or multiple) delivered to them today? Doesn't seem very different from walking into a chain store and plopping down your credit card, it's just less visible.
Starbucks will be fine. Maplewood isn't some kind of preserved-in-amber time capsule. I guess it's natural to want things to remain the same as when you first encountered them, but that isn't the way the world works. Maplewood has changed a tremendous amount since I moved here many years ago--mostly for the better, IMO, but every change has had its detractors. Starbucks will either succeed and in the process make the village feel more vibrant and active, or it will fail. But it's hard for me to grasp how the mere presence of a sign with those particular nine letters is going to be a blight on the town.
I heard a rumor that a blacksmith shop is going to open on the site as well. Can anyone confirm this?
relx said:
I heard a rumor that a blacksmith shop is going to open on the site as well. Can anyone confirm this?
Oy, the opposition to that one is going to be terribly overwrought.
imonlysleeping said:
Starbucks will be fine. Maplewood isn't some kind of preserved-in-amber time capsule. I guess it's natural to want things to remain the same as when you first encountered them, but that isn't the way the world works. Maplewood has changed a tremendous amount since I moved here many years ago--mostly for the better, IMO, but every change has had its detractors. Starbucks will either succeed and in the process make the village feel more vibrant and active, or it will fail. But it's hard for me to grasp how the mere presence of a sign with those particular nine letters is going to be a blight on the town.
I miss the five and dime and Young Cottage and Carmelita's and any number of other places that have come and gone, but Maplewood is still charming. And, I don't drink coffee, but I don't get the animosity towards Starbucks.
DaveSchmidt said:
Stoughton said:
relx said:Oy, the opposition to that one is going to be terribly overwrought.
I heard a rumor that a blacksmith shop is going to open on the site as well. Can anyone confirm this?
What's ferrous fair.
(Says the village Schmidty.)
Will they be doing tong-making demonstrations?
I've heard they're gripping.
Reminds me of when K-Mart opened a store in Astor Place. That was the first volley.
ridski said:
Will they be doing tong-making demonstrations?
I've heard they're gripping.
As Grossvater Schmidt always told us kiddies at the anvil: "Hold your tong!"
One of the things which attracted me to Maplewood was St. James' Gate. A pub right in the center of town that I could walk to (and more importantly stumble home from). But wasn't there a similar fight against having a pub in the village?
As a side note, I just found this old NY Times article about the closing of the pharmacy/gift shop and opening of Leo's Nails, featuring Tom Reingold and Hank Zona. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E0D61039F93AA35752C0A9639C8B63
For those counting, this was 11 years ago.
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Just read this:
"DeLuca also stated that the developers have a Letter of Intent with two retail tenants, which are Starbucks and a bank."
In this TAPIntoSOMA article:
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/soma/articles/demolition-of-old-post-office-building-underway-i
Sorry if I missed previous discussions about this, but how is it in the best interests of Maplewood to bring in the epitome of a national, corporate chain store like Starbucks? I thought Maplewood prided itself on its local - or at most regional - businesses, and also had bylaws preventing a store like this from coming in?
- rj