The struggling coffee chain has tapped Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol to be its new chairman and CEO, effective September 9. Starbucks’ stock soared more than 13% in premarket trading, while Chipotle’s dipped 8%.

Niccol has been leading the Mexican-inspired food chain since 2018, with Starbucks saying he has set “new standards in the industry and driven significant growth and value creation,” pointing to its revenue growing nearly 800% during his tenure.

    • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      -79 months ago

      Yes. This way, the local guy I’ll never know, who employs dozens of local people, will get his profits; instead of a remote guy I’ll never know, who employs dozens of local people. Help me understand which stranger is more worthy, then, based on the zip code of their house?

      • @WelcomeBear@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago
        1. There are plenty of tiny coffee places (and other small businesses) near me where the owner is there all day, every day with just one or two employees. You’ll get to know them if you want to. You might also bump into them around town. If they suck, patronize a different place.

        2. Theoretically, most of the money that I spend there stays in town, helping to keep other businesses and families going. They probably sponsor the local animal shelter or little league team. I like that.

        3. I’ve worked in small businesses and corporate America. In my experience corporate America always sucks, small business only sometimes suck. I don’t like supporting large corporations and especially not their admin and C-suite. Those vampires are why the wealth gap is growing so quickly.

        4. Corporate food is boring.

        5. Some people argue that all of the transportation involved in moving around product and people for multi-national corporations is worse for the environment. I don’t care about that personally but it seems like a reasonable conclusion.

      • fmstrat
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        19 months ago

        Have you been to local shops? Usually local owners participate in the business, we see ours roasting all the time. The last place we went when traveling was opened right next to the AT by a hiker who runs it by herself with a friend.

        If you haven’t met the owner, you probably haven’t tried to. But my guess is, you don’t go there anyway out of some weird spite.

    • @skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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      39 months ago

      Just make coffee at home before you leave. 10 minutes versus however long the coffee shop trip costs in time and money. Even faster if you get a basic coffeemaker that has a clock that can be set to start up automatically.

      Coffee shops are overpriced for the mediocrity.

      • fmstrat
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        29 months ago

        While I agree, part of it is the experience. Some people want to spend time away from home, and for many families that is a way to buy one drink and get alone time or a place to sit with friends for a while. Sometimes it’s also the skill in the drink itself (not Starbucks, though). So in those cases, drink local.

      • @Jimmycakes@lemmy.world
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        49 months ago

        Ok but I don’t have any teenagers at home who will make whatever they want instead of what I ordered and take 20 minutes to do it.

  • Capt. Wolf
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    119 months ago

    Starbucks is sugary, trash water. Brew your own coffee at home. Costs way less, tastes much better, and it’s significantly healthier compared to the flavored milk they sell.

    • quicklime
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      49 months ago

      Meanwhile, what they serve at Chipotle is not worth even half of what they charge for it.

      • @CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
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        39 months ago

        Yeah both these companies have been run into the ground in my opinion. They’re just coasting on inertia at this point.

    • @PlantJam@lemmy.world
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      29 months ago

      And if you make cold brew in advance, it’s saves a lot of time in the morning. It’s even good heated up in the microwave, but I drink it iced year round.

    • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      19 months ago

      Costs way less, tastes much better, and it’s significantly healthier compared to the flavored milk they sell.

      I don’t have the machine at home. Or that other machine. Nor can I make a fern leaf with the milk. And where’m I gonna get a lip piercing at this time of night? Be reasonable, man.

      • Capt. Wolf
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        9 months ago

        In my experience, anyone I’ve ever known who is earnestly writing a book or a screenplay doesn’t shut up about it, regardless of whether they go to Starbucks or not.

  • @pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml
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    49 months ago

    I’m don’t understand how they can have a level of food that is so trash that even subway is better. McDonald’s is better. The frozen aisle at the supermarket is better. I don’t know how they managed to be so bad.

  • @ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.netOP
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    919 months ago

    I used to love Starbucks because it was a great place to get coffee and chill. Then the whole anti-unions thing, and local coffee shops did it better making me drop Starbucks.

    I used to love Chipotle because of their quality and price. Then portions got weirder. Every week was a new food recall. The ones near me look filthy and sad, and that made me drop Chipotle.

    To see both of their names together… Yikes.

        • @pdxfed@lemmy.world
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          129 months ago

          Website? Negative ghost rider.

          You’re looking for the place with the small self-serve sauces, jalapeños and pickled carrots &onions. Never tablecloths. Strip mall locations only if located in the US Southwest. Wheels +3 to menu, -1 cost modifiers. +5 to taste if Latinx customers eat there.

          • @ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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            59 months ago

            Spanish is a completely gendered language. None of them want or use the term Latinx, and they think people trying to use it are morons. The X in Latinx can’t even be conjugated in Spanish. The only ones trying to make Latinx a “thing” are Caucasians from the US.

            • @pdxfed@lemmy.world
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              19 months ago

              I work with a bunch of people who are Latinx who prefer it and think those who don’t use it are dinosaurs. Almost like people have different preferences.

          • sunzu2
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            69 months ago

            +5 to taste if Latinx customers eat there.

            I wonder how the latinos feel about this one lol

            • @DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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              9 months ago

              As long as the latinas don’t mind

              Just FYI, it was Latinos that were behind the term.

              Gringos don’t care, because they don’t speak Spanish.

            • @Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              39 months ago

              I live in the southwest US and see a lot of events and organizations use Latinx. If it was only local government using it without community input or something you might have a point, but it’s kinda weird to act like Latino run organizations somehow don’t know their own opinions. Some organizations even use both Latino and Latinx depending on if they’re speaking in Spanish or English, and somehow I feel like you’re not ready for Latine.

    • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      19 months ago

      local coffee shops did it better

      I wish! We have a “TimeOut!” coffee shop down the road, and they’ve got the attitude and they price their thimbles-worth like it’s the airport, but I really didn’t go in for the show so much as a decent frothy cuppa; and I left feeling just as lacking and a little less valued.

  • @Tilgare@lemmy.world
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    159 months ago

    Strange that I am in active boycott of two restaurants, and it happens to be both of these places. Not for anything high minded - they both discontinued their chorizo offerings, the only thing I liked on either of their menus. Happened 7 or 8 years ago now, and I won’t go back.

    • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      39 months ago
      1. Caffeine is addictive,
      2. sugar gives you the zoomies, and
      3. frothy milk is delicious.

      That’s the coffee part handled, anyway. The only improvement would be allow for alcohol, I think, as I’m really sure an irish coffee all day would improve my morning commute – the bus driver would be so much more relaxed!

    • @frezik@midwest.social
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      29 months ago

      It’s strange how the Internet turned on Chipolte. When they were first expanding, everyone raved about how great they were. Then there’s a few very public food safety issues, which certainly doesn’t put them in a good light. They didn’t make any particular changes to their recipes AFAIK due to that. If you thought they were tasty before, then that opinion should be the same now even if you avoid them due to untrustworthy food safety.

      I dunno; the Mexican fried rice they use tends to sit heavy in my stomach, so I avoid them, anyway.

    • BigFig
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      109 months ago

      That already happens at busy locations