#48 - starbucks sucks . . . the broadway cafe does not (01-98) 



in early 1998, the spots once filled by the old nutty girl (don't worry, she's still in business,) and some shop that i don't recall (it was cards and esoterica at one point,) were replaced by a starbucks, directly one door north of the broadway café. this followed the inevitable offer to sell, which the broadway turned down. after a brief protest movement (the only protest movement i ever joined,) the starbucks went in, and the seattle giant settled back to watch the broadway die.

that was six years ago, as of this writing, and despite opening two more starbucks within a mile of this one, the broadway cafe does arguably as much business as all three put together. the secret? not only does starbucks suck for coffee, which is a huge liability, and not only is the people's republic of westport loyal to local business, but the broadway began roasting its own coffee. a good product became better, and, to turn the tables on the corporate giant, the broadway opened another location just down the street, encircling its enemy.

lesson learned? well, i would say that protests weigh a lot less that useful direct action. don't like something? do something to counter that. burning stabucks down is one choice . . . a better choice would be to provide an alternative world.

but this comic was written before it became apparent that the victory of the broadway was inevitable. the suspicion at the time was that starbucks would simply drive the broadway out of business, and so this was a part of the information campaign against seattle.

it was also the last of the 'first forty-eight,' the first fourteen months of sparrow's fall. it was a strange, sad episode to me. i wasn't, indeed, completely sure i would be able to continue. i had a lot of high hopes, and a lot of plans, many of which did not come to fruition. it was indeed, a long time before another sparrow's fall was published. but when it was, it was a doozy. there's an allusion to other artists, but that happened only once. mostly it's just me.

i might observe that the layout on the first page is good, but that on the second is weak, and that the wash is really not so hot. i wish i had been able to end on an artistically better note, but i did not. i was eager to begin other projects . . . Winter of Crows amongst them.
 


 

 


 
 

Posted: Mon - May 24, 2004 at 07:03 AM             |

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