Taking a moment away from GRE prep to lament the death of Diedrich's...
This will probably only matter to people in my little corner of California, but I just wanted to devote an entry to the sad demise of the Diedrich's coffee chain in Orange County. A pretty small chain by American standards, they have about 40 nice little locations which are about to be shut down thanks to...whom? Hmm... I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count: yes, Starbucks has either bought out their leases or bought the locations outright from franchise owners-with the SOLE intention of shutting them down! This is depressing for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it's just a nicer place to be than most of the other coffee joints in this area. And never mind the fact that they offer one of the few alternatives to Starbucks; never mind the cultural implications of yet another home-grown business getting swallowed up by the gaping maw of corporate greed, Diedrich's also just happens to brew some REALLY GOOD COFFEE. Simple as that. So goodbye, Diedrich's...thanks for the coffee, and for employing various friends of mine over the years, and providing me with a non-Starbucks-related location to study, get caffeinated, smoke cigarettes and do crossword puzzles. I am sad to see you go.
Lately when I go in and chat with the Diedrich's employees, I just get so frustrated about the lack of control we have over things like this... People losing their jobs (although I'm sure Starbucks will hire them right up), and poor towns like Brea which are already culturally desolate having to stomach the presence of another Starbucks (I think there are already like 4 or 5 of them in this town). This kind of frustration reminds me of this photo, from the French riots last summer:
Riots are tragic, but isn't there something kind of awesome about Ronald McDonald just sitting there in his shell of a restaurant? Just a thought.
Anyhow, let's boycott Starbucks, ay?
Lately when I go in and chat with the Diedrich's employees, I just get so frustrated about the lack of control we have over things like this... People losing their jobs (although I'm sure Starbucks will hire them right up), and poor towns like Brea which are already culturally desolate having to stomach the presence of another Starbucks (I think there are already like 4 or 5 of them in this town). This kind of frustration reminds me of this photo, from the French riots last summer:
Riots are tragic, but isn't there something kind of awesome about Ronald McDonald just sitting there in his shell of a restaurant? Just a thought.
Anyhow, let's boycott Starbucks, ay?