Invasion of the Coffee Snatchers

The city council agreed to uphold the planning commissioners 7-0 vote to approve a Starbucks store on Broadway.

Most of the merchants agreed that this would be good for Broadway as it would bring more traffic, while many of the residents agreed this would be bad for Broadway, as it would bring more traffic.

It seems the issue that Burlingame council, and citizens needs to address is what they want their commerical districts to be like in 5 - 10 years.

We all seem to want the personal, friendly, small town flavor, not the anonymous sterile corporate face that the Avenue is rapidly becoming. But how do we ensure that remains that way?

Without a clear plan each and every project will have to be reviewed piece meal. It's time for the citizens to speak up and say what they want, and for our council and planning commissioners to provide the framework to ensure that we retain the small town atmosphere.

- Written by admin

Comments

[Jeremy]

I don't think we can rely just on market forces to shape our town. There has to be an overall vision and plan. Each new store has to fit into the whole both architecturally and from a service standpoint.

But there has to be an 'invisible hand' to ensure that the vision becomes a reality. Maybe there should be tax credits for public commitments. i.e. if your store participates in the city events (holiday on the Avenue, art on the avenue etc) then there are credits. Sort of like the service hours our kids have to do at school.

[Fiona]

I think people will choose between a fast cup of coffee in a sterile environment and somewhere like Il Piccolo where you can relax, know a friendly face, appreciate the surroundings, relax, read a newspaper and enjoy your latte! There will always be customers who prefer Il Piccolo. Just like there are people who prefer Burlingame Broadway than the mini-mall of Burlingame Avenue.
Vive la difference!

[keith]

I can't believe we allowed another Starbucks. These are the guys who use the business model of buying out small coffee shop leases to steal their business location. And they sue everyone and their brother for nothing, http://www.haidabuckscafe.com/battle.htm
These are bad people running a bad business and we welcome them into our town.

[Bruce]

Burlingame is changing, people are changing, let's all WELCOME new idea, stores, and businesses without government involvements!

[Keith]

Bruce! you can't be serious. Surely you must know a community must have standards for development. No resident wants a power plant in their town, but at what level do you draw the line? Is pollution ok, or congestion or how about corruption?

[Bruce]

Keith, Starbucks isn't a power plant nor it creates pollution. The broadway retails are dead. Go and talk to majority of these store owners, and see what's their reaction! of course, beside that one across the street. As far as the standards for development, I don't think Starbucks receive any preferential treatment from the City!

[Keith]

Starbucks is a mean spirited business. Where you are right is that nobody seems to care. You state that they aren't a power plant, but that misses the point of my arguement. Will we only disallow a business if they are a power plant? This is perhaps why safeway thinks they can steamroll us. All we worry about are national headline issues and community standards are forgotten.

[Gerald]

As a business owner on Broadway I can tell you I'm ambivalent regarding the arrival of Starbucks. On one hand, it's a recognized name for a particular quality of a product. On the other hand, it means the arrival of another corporate entity that is not unique to Burlingame. And, of course, it means one less locally-owned, independant business.

I can tell you that business on Broadway is not "dead." We are very busy, thanks to the locals and others who make their way to our little shop.

But most business owners on Broadway do very little to promote their enterprises. Few even think to sweep the sidewalk in front of their shops. Some think parking in front (or nearby) their place of business, taking up potential customer parking, is okay, too.

It would be grand to have a better mix of businesses on Broadway. A bakery would be nice. Someone wanted to put a bakery facility into a location just off Broadway, but I've been told a city official informed the landlord there was virtually no way in hell a bakery could make use of that space! (In my view, the city official should have informed the landlord of his options in trying to make it happen...some city council folks told "I wish I had known....").

We could use a news-stand type place.

A real deli would be terrific.

We are being asked to possibly eliminate some retail businesses here by allowing things such as dentist offices, other medical practices, etc., as possble tenants for storefonts. Frankly, my preference is for these retail locations to remain devoted to retail...

But one landlord feels the high rent he's asking for are possible if the City changes the zoning and allows these sort of enterprises to operate on the "ground level" of Broadway (you could have a doctor's office on the second floor, for example). In my view, this landlord ought to come to his senses as to what is a reasonable 'rent'.

And if I might suggest that a business such as Starbucks DOES create pollution: they sell beverages in disposable containers. It won't be long before we find these littering Broadway. I know they've been told to "police" their storefront sidewalk and a bit beyond. I hope they'll do more than that!

We'll see.

[Rosaline]

I was at the Council meeting when Starbucks was being discussed and Councilwoman O'Mahony told Starbucks very emphatically that they must do a better job than they did on Burlingame Avenue. We'll see. Il Piccolo is an absolutely perfect coffee house in every way and I like Broadway for the very reason than there aren't any Gaps, Abercrombies and all the other same-same stores.

[todd]

i just found out about this site and there are facinating comments. in this issue, i agree with bruce in that broadway is virtually dead. on a saturday afternoon around 3pm, i took my wife and baby there to visit the cute little shops only to find that half of them were closed. most of the other half was empty and only 1 or 2 stores had customers in them. starbucks would inject some life into the area as well as more foot traffic for other stores. while i'm all for the mom-and-pop stores, i find their products are higher priced and not as fresh. their store setups are uninviting. look at burlingame avenue and see how it's done. they're a bustling area, and a fun place to be. yet, they still have the small town charm. broadway is a depressing place with nothing to do for the typical tourist. the storefronts are dirty and the stores are uninteresting. lower the rents, bring in some chain stores and watch broadway become the next burlingame avenue.....