Starbucks along Grove? Yes, it's here!

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When I first heard the rumours that Starbucks is opening a branch in Los Baños, I didn't believe it. Why would a big-name coffee shop set up shop in a sleepy university town so close to rice fields and mountains?!?

And then the fast food eatery near UPLB gate was torn down, followed by the ID photo shop I always go to for my passport photo needs. For several months, a building was being constructed right in front of Vega Centre (where McDonald's is). Speculations abound, particularly among friends who love drinking coffee in those cutesy, hole-in-the-wall coffee shops despite the lack of clean restrooms and variable quality of drinks and service.

As February drew to a close and March began, it was confirmed. The GI sheets were removed and the semi-finished building was revealed: Starbucks has finally arrived in Los Baños, as indicated by the sign outside the glass windows.

On its opening night, I was not surprised to see a long queue of patrons patiently waiting to get a cup of really expensive coffee. This was what I've long been discussing with Matty, the experience economy. He predicted the long queues as well. Coffee drinkers in Los Baños have gone beyond getting their caffeine fix to survive the day and their preferences have gone beyond the industry-grade instant coffee mixes. They are ready to finally experience drinking coffee in a shop that sells handcrafted beverages as fast food (because service is fast) right in their backyard. No more trips to Calamba or to San Pablo for the experience. Finally, they can see and be seen in one of the hippest coffee shops in the planet.

I've been to Starbucks and I know what the excitement is all about. I have fond memories of Starbucks Madrigal because it's where my family used to bond on the weekends. I will forever remember Starbucks in Petron SLEX southbound because that's my first ever visit to Starbucks. And Starbucks Tagaytay has got to have the best view among the branches in the Philippines: it overlooks Taal Volcano. But I wasn't excited by Starbucks' arrival in Los Baños. I'm not snobbish nor am I a fickle coffee connoisseur (in fact, I don't drink coffee). I'm just already used to have easy access to Starbucks... the closest one to me at the moment is just a 10-minute drive away; handy when I'm bracing myself for a long drive and I need a steady dose of caramel macchiato with soy milk (yes, this is the exemption to the rule: I need caffeine when I know I am looking at a six-hour straight drive ahead of me). So yes, Starbucks (to me now) means convenience and another option for food when I'm on the go; it's no longer a space to regularly spend a long time in.

Anyway...

As Starbucks stretches its wings and develops its customer base in Los Baños, I think that it gives the other coffee shops a run for their money. Because Starbucks is an industry giant, I expect that its global standards will rub off and improve the services and the facilities of its smaller competitors. I hope that these competitors will persevere the initial brunt because once the novelty has rubbed off, their market shares will stabilise too. 

UPLB just might become a university that never sleeps.

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