1) Qhapao Nan, the Inca Trail continues at Decatur Library.
2) Attend Yuppies for Puppies and help out Atlanta Pet Rescue.
3) Langhorne Slim plays the Georgia Theatre.
4) Michael Gates Gill discusses and signs his memoir, How Starbucks Saved My Life, at Wordsmiths Books.
5) Signs of Reappropriation opens at Atlanta College of Art Gallery.
(Photo courtesy Decatur Library)
Everybody’s favorite punchline to all jokes consumerism and Democrats, Starbucks now has become a rallying point for the caffeine obsessed. A week after the ubiquitous coffee announced it would be not so ubiquitous, the Wall Street Journal reports today that there are campaigns to protest those closings. (Yet another reason to switch to decaf, but whatever.)
The Atlanta area is scheduled to have 10 shops close, according to a report in the AJC, which listed each of them. (There are 13 total scheduled closings in Georgia.) No word yet any local initiatives to battle the closings, which include such intown stops as the one at the Georgia Aquarium and at Peachtree Street at 17th Street (Midtown). I would have loved to see what kind of battle cry would have sounded if the one in Little Five Points, whose opening I heard was the source of much anti-chain yelping. Any takers?
But this is no joke to the baristas, as the WSJ article points out
The closures mean Starbucks will eliminate about 12,000 jobs, which comes out to 20 for every location it plans to shut. In addition to creating jobs and generating revenue, Starbucks outlets serve as key draws for other retailers, making the loss of one a blow to the surrounding area.
From the AJC:
“The coffee house is closing all 7,100 company-owned U.S. stores for three hours on Tuesday for remedial espresso training for its baristas.”
Move over Gandhi, Audie Murphy, and Lech Walesa. — this is true courage.
“The decision and the courage it takes to remove something when there’s pressure on the business — like the sandwiches — is emblematic that we’re going to build for the long-term and get back to the roots and the core of our heritage, which is the leading roaster of specialty coffee in the world.”
— Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, on the company’s decision to stop selling sandwiches.
