Starbucks Everywhere!

January 30, 2003 7:56 PM

How many different Starbucks outlets in North America have you been to? Less than 3,381? If so, this guy has you beat. See Winter's caffeine-propelled roadtrip stats and peruse his mind-numbing photo gallery.
Do not try this at home; you WILL end up looking like this.
posted by PrinceValium (31 comments total)

This guy is going to have major issues with his nervous system... This much coffee in conjunction with the stints this guy is driving has got to blow a fuse sometime!
posted by npost at 8:17 PM on January 30, 2003

Starbucks: dark, mediocre coffee in a pleasant atmosphere...
posted by ParisParamus at 8:20 PM on January 30, 2003

holy shit! and i thought i had strange hobbies. what is scary is how many of the stores in austin i've been to.

just hope this doesn't turn into another corporate coffee sucks thread
posted by birdherder at 8:27 PM on January 30, 2003

Suddenly, my life feels so much more interesting than it did before I read these links. Thanks.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:37 PM on January 30, 2003

I'd read about the metastasizing of these places in North America, but I didn't realize how ridiculous it had gotten until I went back for the first time in 5 years over Xmas and spent some time in Vancouver. The fucking things are everywhere! There's two of them across the street from each other on Granville and Georgia, for goodness sakes! That shouldn't bother me as much as it does, perhaps. Ah well.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:48 PM on January 30, 2003

"...my project to visit every Starbucks in the world..."

...dovetails nicely with my project, which is never to visit a Starbucks.

Here's wishing us both continued success in our ventures.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:06 PM on January 30, 2003

Bah, I'm not a coffee drinker, but I've always dreamed of visiting every Waffle House. Here's a list.
posted by Frank Grimes at 10:13 PM on January 30, 2003

Apparently too many lattes make your memory worse. The image filed under "Mt Vernon/Haggins, Bellingham, Washington" in his photo gallery is actually from Bellevue, Washington. The difference is about 90 miles worth. Not to mention that Mt. Vernon is another town entirely, and Haggins is probably mis-spelled Haggen's, a local grocery store chain name. In short, he is confused and should lay off the caffeine.

Then again, for a personal hobby, I collect bridges. That is, wherever I go, I have to walk across all large bridges I can get access to, thus adding them to my "collection". Yes, I am weird.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 10:36 PM on January 30, 2003

When I finally had a drink from Starbucks, it rather surprised me, because it did not taste like coffee at all, because it had been so sweetened and flavored. I will say that they do good espresso brownies though.
posted by stoneegg21 at 11:00 PM on January 30, 2003

Hmm, personally I collect roads. What can I say, I'm a sucker for interesting roads, especially if it's not paved. Although in general I don't collect pictures of them, because the pictures just never do them adequate justice.

This poor guy is in trouble, because they're probably building the damn things faster than he can get to them. Although it could have been worse, he could have picked McDonalds. I mean, there's tons of those (I used to live near where the 10000 one was built, and I think they're a lot higher now since that was over a decade ago).
posted by piper28 at 11:04 PM on January 30, 2003

If only he'd visited the Starbucks inside the Barnes and Noble on Astor, he would have completed the Astor Place Trifecta, wherein one can be standing in a Starbucks, looking down at both a Starbucks across the street, and a Starbucks a half a block away. Dang
posted by saladin at 11:05 PM on January 30, 2003

This guy's trying to visit every Denny's in the world. He's only hit 214, so far.
posted by waxpancake at 11:09 PM on January 30, 2003

That is, wherever I go, I have to walk across all large bridges I can get access to, thus adding them to my "collection". Yes, I am weird.

It is my mission to pee in every major body of water on the planet before I die. I admit that I am redefining the meaning of 'major' as time runs out, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:20 PM on January 30, 2003

Downtown Seattle has another set of three like saladin described. Standing outside of one, you can see another a block away and across the street, then a third a little bit farther along. I seem to recall another coffee chain (Tully's, I believe) also visible at that point. That would actually be a slightly more interesting project, to find the point of highest local Starbucks density.
posted by Schismatic at 12:44 AM on January 31, 2003

I've actually been to McDonald's in every country in South-America: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. I've also been to McDonald's in Mexico, USA and Canada, so I just have a few Central-American countries left to complete my Pan-American journey.

So, at least I've accomplished something in my life.
posted by einarorn at 2:27 AM on January 31, 2003

einarorn: ever notice how American fast food seems to taste...better abroad? Can't quite figure it out.


and I love the menu item at McDonald's in Japan: "Smile.....[free]"
posted by gottabefunky at 6:43 AM on January 31, 2003

Sad thing about where I work (Silver Spring, MD) is that the Starbuck's is the most comfortable place around to sit and eat/drink/chill when you just need to get the hell out of the office, corporate-cozy-wall-poetry and all.

I notice this is often the case. You're basically renting a chair and decent atmosphere for $2.50, and you get a half-assed cup of coffee for free.
posted by gottabefunky at 6:45 AM on January 31, 2003

"Apparently too many lattes"... brings out your inner homophobe. In the Toronto section, he describes one $tarbuck$ on "the infamous Church street."

Infamous? Since when is the main street in the city's gay village "infamous"?

(Or am I missing something?)
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 6:45 AM on January 31, 2003

How many different Starbucks outlets in North America have you been to?

Heh, zer©.
posted by Shane at 6:55 AM on January 31, 2003

When he was in Ontario he should have just swung by my university. There are two coffee shops on campus that explicitly display "We proudly brew Starbucks Coffee!" and the majority of the rest do too, they just don't tell you about it. I suppose that's not quite the same as a atmosphere you get in one of their liscenced franchises though, eh?
posted by nelleish at 7:39 AM on January 31, 2003

Then again, for a personal hobby, I collect bridges.

With my friend Cable, it's airports. He's flown in to (or out of) more than 100 different ones so far.
posted by LeLiLo at 9:54 AM on January 31, 2003

Yep gottabefunky, McDonald's does seem better outside the U.S. Especially when the local food is terrible. When we were in Bolivia we spent three weeks outside of La Paz, eating horrible food. When we got to the capital La Paz, we actually took a cab straight to McDonald's. Since there are only two McDonald's in La Paz, it turned out to be a pretty expensive cab ride.... But it was worth it.
posted by einarorn at 10:24 AM on January 31, 2003

cool. he's been to the one near the disco kroger, one of atlanta's more eclectic landmarks.

though not as obvious as the big chicken.
posted by grabbingsand at 10:29 AM on January 31, 2003

There's two of them across the street from each other on Granville and Georgia, for goodness sakes!

*cough*RobsonandBurrard*cough*

My local. I find it somewhat alarming that I have visited, according to this no doubt comprehensive listing, every Starbucks within city limits at one time or another. I wasn't trying to.

But I'm not obsessed with Starbucks, mind you. I'm an "enthusiast".

That's what they all say.
posted by jokeefe at 10:38 AM on January 31, 2003

What's the point? Don't they all look the same inside anyhow? Poor sap is probably missing out on some cool local coffeespots as he blunders his way toward the next 'Bucks.

I tend to avoid them unless it's the only option. My local one (SE 28th and Burnside, Portland, OR) was open on Thanksgiving, but all the indies were closed.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 12:23 PM on January 31, 2003

It is my mission to pee in every major body of water on the planet before I die. I admit that I am redefining the meaning of 'major' as time runs out, though.

Similarly, stav, I've peed in public in every foreign country I've visited (Mexico, Honduras, Canada, France, England, Scotland, and Wales). It's a goal I make when I travel. I'll start a pool so that you all can select which country I'll get deported from for said activity.
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:13 PM on January 31, 2003

Ufez, try doing that in Singapore (and blog the aftermath for our amusement.)
posted by PrinceValium at 1:59 PM on January 31, 2003

How many different Starbucks outlets in North America have you been to?

at last , the killer chat up line !
my hands up for peeing in public in singapore..
sentosa island.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:36 PM on January 31, 2003

The first Starbucks in Des Moines, Iowa, USA was actually located inside a Target store. We just got our first "real" Starbucks earlier this year. We're all quite proud. Or not.

And...uh...I've been to eight different Major League Baseball stadiums.
posted by jaronson at 8:40 PM on January 31, 2003

I almost got arrested for peeing in public in Mexico, Ufez. Thanks to my Comedy Bribery Skills, however, I escaped, but it did put the public urination fear of god into me.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:25 PM on January 31, 2003

I've peed in public in every foreign country I've visited. . .I'll start a pool

uh, be careful where you start that pool.

When I was a kid, I had a (long-since-abandoned) goal to visit every station on the London Underground. Dunno why -- it just seemed interesting and a bit exotic.
posted by Vidiot at 6:11 AM on February 1, 2003