The Starbucks Standard is Welcome Here

By: Tobias Crichton

For some, this was a momentous event - eagerly anticipated as a milestone that marked a point in time where Inglewood could finally count itself as...well what exactly? Something newer than it was before? It's hard to say precisely why, but none-the-less - lots of people were really happy to have a Starbucks in the area. Still others seemed to bemoan the gentrification of the area, suggesting that such a business only serve to lower the character and uniqueness of our neighborhood. And while it's a bit perplexing as to why such a common thing would be so anticipated, or even debated (after all - there are lots of places to get a far superior coffee on 9th Ave.) I suppose it's easy to understand why the sense of "fitting in" is comforting. And having a Starbucks within walking distance - well, perhaps it's a little break from being "different" all the time when you live/work in Inglewood. Sure, we can all take some collective pride in saying that our little corner of the city has it's own thing going. If you work elsewhere and live in Inglewood - Starbucks is certainly no big deal. But let's face it - the variety in quality of service and consistency on 9th is also just as eclectic as most of the shops in the area. That's mostly a good thing... but not always. I can say from personal experience, I didn't always appreciate the fact that the Buffalo used to be closed on Monday (something I would only remember once I was standing out front at 8:00am... mouth open in dismay...palm to forehead...), and that I would often just take whatever was available when it was -20, and a coffee was really quite a neccessity. For something like coffee, it's a morning ritual. The last thing you really want is a surprise. Don't get creative, don't get cute. Just get me my triple-grande half-fat no-foam latte please. Starbucks does a better job of that than anyone else on 9th Ave. has been able to do so far (actual quality of espresso shot not withstanding) and I think that's all it needs to be. Sort of like a human gas station for people in fashionable yet sensible clothes. Let's remember that lots of people work here, and Starbucks, for lack of a better category, is part of the modern workers routine. The photos on the wall taken in the community are a small step in the right direction - and perhaps over time, our local starbucks will take on a genuine patina of character all its' own. But that will be the effect So far, the best the community has been able to bestow was a nice smashed window about a week after it opened. Hurray for us. Until then, let's form our sense of local ownership, community pride & taste... around something a bit less mundane than our morning coffee.