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Comment by dr_ | Hacker News Reader

How about improving on some of the food items? Starbucks had purchased BayBread/La Boulange for 100 million several years ago. Yet when I walk into a Starbucks and look at the selection of pastries behind the glass casing, they look dehydrated and unappealing. My local cafe has stuff that actually looks like it was freshly baked that morning. They usually don't make them in house, they work with local bakers. Starbucks should consider doing something similar.

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I agree they tend to look awful in the display case, but I've actually been fairly happy with their bakery items. It's possible all they really need to do is spritz the muffins with water every so often to make them appear more moist.

The best way to sell baked goods is to bake them in-house, though, exposing customers to an aroma that's almost impossible to say "no" to. Subway clearly had the right idea when it came to selling cookies.

They bought La Boulange to shut down the competition because they were typically started around the block from Starbucks. But SB kept them long enough the non-compete ran out. The founder then re-leased several of the old locations and opened as La Boulangerie...

I guess that's what SB can do when they print money and don't want to be distracted by baking.

One issue with that is that less-industrialized processes are more prone to errors, particularly in food safety. Such a failure at a single store can tarnish the entire brand. Just ask Chipotle.

why not support your local cafe instead?

(in terms of the purely economic question of whats best for sb, that mass produced cardboard food must net more profit than the increased sales of more expensive higher quality food would)

The percentage of that profit staying in the local area is smaller at a Starbucks.

One is overrun with mannerless 18-25 year olds, so much so that they replaced the chairs with uncomfortable ones in an apperant attempt to limit them hanging out all day.

The founder of the other was just put away for child sex crimes. True story.

I've encountered two Starbucks stores that I consider exemplarily managed. I go there mostly.

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