Follow the Mermaid

Starbucks heard the “predator” taunts when it plopped a new store next to the Broadway Café in 1998. But the onslaught of green-aproned baristas hasn’t been all bad for independents. By ritualizing the consumption of fancy coffee drinks, Starbucks has made caffeine peddling an attractive business. As Starbucks boss Howard Schultz said on 60 Minutes, “[W]e created an industry that did not exist … ”

A few places around town seem to support Schultz’s theory.