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You would think that running a cafe near an outpost of the biggest coffee chain in the world is a bad idea. In fact, over the years, many independent coffee shops have viewed the arrival of a Starbucks near their shop as a potential death knell for their business.
But one coffee shop in a small town near San Francisco is thriving—with a Starbucks just 75 feet down the street and another two blocks away.
The Groovy Goose opened in 2023 in San Carlos, California, with the express intention of doing things differently from its corporate competition. “I know I have a better product,” co-owner Nathan Conte told Grant Marek from SF Gate. “I don’t use cheap beans, and I treat my staff better.”
The Starbucks up the street has been there for thirty years, but Marek writes that it is now “a ghost town” with “more to-go orders at the counter than actual people.”
The lack of customers hanging out is something the chain is trying to address as part of CEO Brian Niccol’s ongoing “Back to Starbucks” reinvention plan. Years of prioritizing convenience had led to falling sales, upset customers, and worker unrest. Now, Niccol is trying to revert the brand to its coffeehouse roots. So far, it hasn’t worked, with recent data showing that customers still aren’t lingering, despite adding couches and other measures intended to encourage people to stay awhile.
Groovy Goose, on the other hand, doesn’t have this problem. When Marek visits, “Every table inside and out of the shoebox-sized coffee shop is filled.”
Although coffee shop owners may fear a Starbucks nearby, research shows that a neighborhood with one of the chain’s locations sees a boost in local entrepreneurship. A 2007 article by Taylor Clark in Slate found that, despite the coffee giant often actively trying to undercut and oust its local competitors, a nearby Starbucks positively benefited independent cafes.
Groovy Goose owner Conte doesn’t mind his neighbor’s proximity. “Starbucks can be in that corner over there,” he says. “I got nothing against those people working there. I love them, they’re human beings, they’re worth the love. But personally, I’m not going to go in there. It’s a choice I appreciate other people are making as well.”
Read more on the Starbucks-subduing coffee shop from SFGate here.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
