It had a signature pastry that had been on offer for at least 2 and probably more generations of owners. Under its owner in the 1980s, the shop evolved into a joyously funky place. They had poetry readings at least one night a week, and the restroom walls were painted with blackboard paint to encourage – not discourage – graffiti.

Another coffee shop opened in the mid-1980s. It was up the street from that one, but it served a more upscale / professional clientele, so they coexisted just fine. A third entered the scene a little later, with more focus on food. Again, they didn’t seem to hurt the other two operations.

In the early 2000s, the owner of the building where the oldest shop was located abruptly refused to renew the shop’s lease. A year later it was a Starbuck’s. Need I mention that the poetry readings and the pastry are no longer part of the package?

Of course, it’s heavily-advertised STARBUCKS. So, no surprise, a couple of years after that, the second shop closed. The third one is surviving so far, by getting into full service breakfast and lunch in a big way.

So Starbucks trampled one-and-a-quarter good local businesses, including one with a long history and serious community involvement. What else is new?

The day Starbucks did that to our town’s history, I swore never to again set foot in one of their shops – no matter how badly I want a coffee. And I haven’t. I have to admit, though, that that resolution isn’t hard to maintain, since I think that drinking their coffee is a lot like licking an ashtray.