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barred_owl
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« Reply #15 on: October 16, 2009, 09:27:21 PM » |
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Well, coffee connoisseurs, if it's any help at all, a quick search of the online yellow pages for Winona reveals that there are at least 4 coffee shops and one Starbucks in Winona, MN. For a town of 20,000, that's not bad. Oh, and FWIW, one of them (at least) is also a live acoustic music venue.
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...I can't help rooting for the underdog underbird. |
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southerntransplant
Overcaffeinated and punchy
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,336
The negotiated indirect cost of this post is 46.5%
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« Reply #16 on: October 16, 2009, 10:23:46 PM » |
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And my point is that coffee chains drive out local entrepeneurs or the possibility of local enterpreneurs who come from the town or city and whose profits are more likely to stay in the city, rather than just paying low paid staff. And if the coffee chain is a franchise operation, then the franchise fee leaves the town or city.
People have to stop thinking about chains as indicative of support for getting good coffee and the like. I know a place of over 150 thousand people that has but one gourmet coffee chain. Therefore, there are many local coffee places that have sprouted up.
What would be far more indicative of a place is how many gourmet coffee shops there are, not just coffee chains.
What if their coffee sucked? My former home city had no chain anything at all except for McDonalds. The coffeehouses were so bad I wanted to aggregate my receipts at the end of the year for a tax deduction for charitable giving. And the hardware stores - where else could I get a box of rusty nails for $10? Home Depot? I think not. Yes, fine to be supportive of local businesses. But when I want coffee, I want coffee. I can pour hot water over a brown crayon at home, thanks. |
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"I tried to walk into a Target, but I missed. I think the entrance to Target should have people splattered all around" - Mitch Hedberg
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scampster
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« Reply #17 on: October 16, 2009, 10:47:42 PM » |
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Oh I don't like Starbucks coffee, so I don't go to Starbucks, I go to the other coffee shops in town (plus what kind of idiot pays for wireless at a coffee shop?). But if you tell me a town has a Starbucks, more often than not, it is a city of a certain size.
And like ST said - sometimes those coffeehouses suck...
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #18 on: October 16, 2009, 11:29:39 PM » |
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To continue the derail, ST makes a great point. We all to love to support local business, but oftentimes, especially where there is no competition from a national chain, those local businesses can really suck. In the small midwestern city where I used to live you could not buy a good cup of coffee for years. Sometimes and espresso place would open up and it would be so terrible as to make you weep in despair.
Finally a Starbucks opened. It was packed. And within a year the non-chain places had vastly improved.
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barred_owl
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« Reply #19 on: October 16, 2009, 11:36:33 PM » |
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So now the real question is: are there any good donut shops in Winona? ;-) ( The yellow pages say "yes!") |
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...I can't help rooting for the underdog underbird. |
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southerntransplant
Overcaffeinated and punchy
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,336
The negotiated indirect cost of this post is 46.5%
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« Reply #20 on: October 17, 2009, 02:13:16 AM » |
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As a former donut maker, THUMBS UP!! |
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"I tried to walk into a Target, but I missed. I think the entrance to Target should have people splattered all around" - Mitch Hedberg
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marfa
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« Reply #21 on: October 17, 2009, 10:56:23 AM » |
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As a former donut maker, THUMBS UP!! Good glazed donuts, yes!! and as to no Whole Foods store, Winona has a food co-op and nearby La Crosse has an even nicer one. You can live without the big named store! |
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"It is hard to be bipartisan when the other party is dominated by crazy people. " DvF
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scampster
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« Reply #22 on: October 17, 2009, 11:06:46 AM » |
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As a former donut maker, THUMBS UP!! Good glazed donuts, yes!! and as to no Whole Foods store, Winona has a food co-op and nearby La Crosse has an even nicer one. You can live without the big named store! Yes, vast expanses of this country survive without a Whole Foods! |
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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helpful
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« Reply #23 on: October 17, 2009, 03:18:38 PM » |
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To continue the derail, ST makes a great point. We all to love to support local business, but oftentimes, especially where there is no competition from a national chain, those local businesses can really suck. In the small midwestern city where I used to live you could not buy a good cup of coffee for years. Sometimes and espresso place would open up and it would be so terrible as to make you weep in despair.
Finally a Starbucks opened. It was packed. And within a year the non-chain places had vastly improved.
I take your point, Larry. I just want people to identify places by what is available, not just use a short cut and name brand coffee shops or chain stores. If there is a great cafe in the place, or an independent retailer, just say so. If I was researching a place to live, I would want as much information as I could, not just whether there is a Wal-Mart. And if there was just a Wal-Mart, I would have my doubts as to going there as it indicates there isn't a diversity of options and the city is laid out like a do-nut, with only big box stores and no vibrant city core. |
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scampster
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« Reply #24 on: October 17, 2009, 03:39:48 PM » |
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If I was researching a place to live, I would want as much information as I could, not just whether there is a Wal-Mart. And if there was just a Wal-Mart, I would have my doubts as to going there as it indicates there isn't a diversity of options and the city is laid out like a do-nut, with only big box stores and no vibrant city core.
You can't escape Walmart. Some very cool college towns have a Walmart on their fringe. If a city is built around the big box stores, that is crappy, but almost any city of a certain size has them on the outskirts at least. |
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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profxfiles
I Am Not, Nor Have I Ever Been A Card-Carrying
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 1,283
I am the grading Jedi
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« Reply #25 on: October 18, 2009, 12:58:37 PM » |
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Wow. I tried to make a point involving an obviously goofy rubric and I generated over a page of debate. I am impressed both with my ability to generate discussion as well as how willing some people are here to take everything so seriously...
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"Personally, I liked the university. They gave us money and facilities, we didn't have to produce anything... You've never been out of the university. You don't know what it's like out there! I've worked in the private sector...they expect results."
--Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters
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southerntransplant
Overcaffeinated and punchy
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,336
The negotiated indirect cost of this post is 46.5%
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« Reply #26 on: October 21, 2009, 06:50:16 AM » |
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Wow. I tried to make a point involving an obviously goofy rubric and I generated over a page of debate. I am impressed both with my ability to generate discussion as well as how willing some people are here to take everything so seriously...
You may have been the catalyst but the flame didn't grow out of your post. Just sayin'... |
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"I tried to walk into a Target, but I missed. I think the entrance to Target should have people splattered all around" - Mitch Hedberg
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spork
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« Reply #27 on: October 21, 2009, 11:47:31 AM » |
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just another inquiry as to feelings about another school!
:)
I would have to say that my feelings range from pleasantly nonchalant to mild curiosity. If you don't apply, who cares? |
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a.k.a. gum-chewing monkey in a Tufts University jacket
"Please do not force people who are exhausted to take medication for hallucinations." -- Memo from the Chair, Department of White Privilege Studies, Fiork University
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