Results tagged “chains”

You might want to trade in that half-caf soy blended latte for a regular cup of coffee. For the first time in the coffee giant's history, Starbucks will be slashing prices. A "tall" coffee will cost $1.50, down from $1.75, and most cappuccino and latte concoctions will get a 10 to 15 cent discount. However, not all Starbucks addicts are celebrating. The more complex drinks, like the addicting Frappuccino, will be up to 25 cents more expensive. Maybe that's what's going to pay for all their new locations in NYC. One anonymous commenter pointed out on Starbucks Gossip that these price drops still leave the drinks more expensive than they were just four months ago, predicting "Customers are going to like the decrease I guess (although not back to original prices on some beverages) but they are going to be left extremely confused and upset that for 4 months they had to pay all that extra." Whatever, everyone knows America runs on Dunkin Tim Horton's.

       

The Center for an Urban Future has followed up last year's hit "Attack of the Chains" study with a terrifying new sequel: "Return of the Chains." [pdf] They're back, their power is growing, and not even the recession can stop them from ultimately setting up shop inside your skull. Since last year's report about national retailers' footprints across our increasingly homogeneous city, over 30 percent of the chain retailers have expanded their presence. Dunkin' Donuts tops the list for the second straight year, with 429 locations city-wide, despite losing 12 of its stores to the Tim Horton’s invasion and facing blatant NYPD pilfering. According to the report, Dunkin' added 88 new stores in the five boroughs since July 2008.

A study by the Center for an Urban Future, called Attack of the Chains? is showing that Brooklyn prefers Dunkin' Donuts over Starbucks, the Daily News reports. The center's director Jonathan Bowles says, "It has to do with different shopping culture. The Dunkin' Donuts is more a middle-class type of place than Starbucks. Not everybody can afford $4 lattes. It’s more of a working person's Starbucks." The chain has 89 outlets in Brooklyn--71 more than Starbucks in the borough. Plus, chains like KFC and Payless thrive in Brooklyn--but will gentrification slowly replace those shops with Cosi's and J.Crew? The study also provides a borough-by-borough breakdown of what stores are in each borough (did you know NYC only has two Crate & Barrel's?).

Harlem resident met with city planners in a public forum yesterday afternoon to discuss whether a major rezoning plan will enhance the historic neighborhood or rip out its heart. The zoning plan, covering 124th, 125th, and 126th Streets, paves the way for condos, a 21-story office tower, a hotel, and more.

Councilman Tony Avella (D-Queens) will be formally announcing his bid to replace Mayor Bloomberg this Sunday. Theories about likely candidates abound (e.g. Councilman John Liu, Rep. Anthony Weiner, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly), but Avella is jumping to the head of the line by explicitly announcing his desire to be Mayor this Sunday at 1 p.m. on the steps of City Hall.

As chains take over every nook and cranny of this city, some people in the East Village are forming a united front against them. The Villager reports on the corporate takeover, the resistance and the new spin on this story as old as time.

There are plenty of Starbucks in Manhattan (over 170), but if you head over to Brooklyn -- you'll see the streets are mostly void of discarded Venti cups and hardly anyone has heard Josh Groban's new Christmas album. But things are about to change, chain-haters beware.A recent Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable meeting revealed that retail giants such as Starbucks, Duane Reade pharmacies and Chase Bank are planning to double and in some cases triple their...