Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Worst Busiest Starbucks

“I hate this Starbucks but I’m in here all the time,” Courtney Watson shared with me as we walked out to parking lot together this afternoon. I had stopped by the Route 40 coffee shop on my way back home after dropping Peanut off at Kiwanis Wallis Park. I spotted Courtney getting her drink while I waited for mine.

I wholeheartedly agree with her about this particular Starbucks. Out of all the Starbucks in HoCo, I like his one the least. It’s crowded, the outside tables are inches from the cars parked in front, and the parking itself is awful. Still, I go there whenever I’m on that side of town…like today.

Courtney told me she had been out canvassing for the past four hours and needed a cool drink to soothe her pipes. She and her campaign team had been circulating through the Kerger Road area of Elkridge earlier today. I asked her what she was hearing out there on the streets of Elkridge.

“There’s a lot of frustration with the federal and state levels,” she told me, but not so much on the local level. She felt that on the council level at least there was more of bipartisan spirit among the people she met today. She said that, for the most part, the people she encountered were willing listen to what she had to say, like the man one of her canvassers encountered. When asked if he’d like to speak with the current council president who was a couple of streets over at the time, he responded “Sure, send her over. I may as well hear what she has to say. I talked to thebald headed fellow last week.”

Ouch.

On the other hand it can’t hurt to have some sort of recognizable feature when you’re running for office.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's the closest Starbucks to Kerger Road? It can't be.

Anonymous said...

If you hate it so bad, why not go elsewhere. I stopped going to Starbucks years ago because the lines were long, the coffee was mediocre and Dunking Donut was just a little further down the street.
HH

Confessions of a Mother, Lawyer & Crazy Woman said...

HATE that Starbucks. And I do not use word lightly.

Tom said...

Famous Yogism "Nobody goes there, it too crowded."

CW said...

Wordbones, Wordbones, Wordbones.... you know perfectly well that you are not telling the whole story here. Who was the first to say they hated that Starbuck's? Hmmm? I must say though, that I do like the employees who are very efficient and friendly. It's just small on square footage and parking. It's worth noting that they have happy hour with 1/2 price frappuccinos from 3-5 through tomorrow, for those Starbuck's lovers out there.

number9dream said...

Try 7-11.

Starbucks is for poseurs.

wordbones said...

CW,

True, I did say that I hated it first.

-wb

Anonymous said...

It's one of the more badly designed shopping centers on Rte. 40, which is saying a lot. But you can get your oil changed, your hair cut at Rob's, and hit a Starbucks and a Subway all within walking distance--if your willing to jump a few shrubs and walk through a few parking lots!

I always like to just order a "small coffee" at Starbucks. It's always fun to see how the employees react.

MaybeKathy said...

I live on N Chatham, just west of that Starbucks and EVERY morning I have to get in the middle lane of Rt 40 even though I am getting on 29 because there are either cars backed up from that parking lot onto 40 or some moron realizes at the last minute that they MUST HAVE A LATTE and slams on their brakes. I really hate that Starbucks.

kam said...

Kerger Road is in Elkridge now? Really? When I lived there many years ago, it was Ellicott City. According to Google maps, where I used to live still is Ellicott City, so does the road actually cross the boundary?

CW said...

No, wordbones is confused. It's Ellicott City.

Jessie Newburn said...

I do remember when you told me that you called the Dobbin Starbucks "laptop alley." My world changed because of that Starbucks and the people it attracted. I met very early-adopters of social media and got plugged into the DC Metro social business scene through that place and the people attracted there. That, and I've met some people I now consider good friends.

That place was magical in its own way and for reasons specific to its location. Alas. Close one chapter. Open another.

Here's my blog post from back in the day when I discovered "laptop alley." http://hometowncolumbia.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/some-call-it-laptop-alley/