Some local cafes are largely unintimidated by the expected arrival of a new Starbucks in Augusta’s medical district.
“I have to say I’ve been in business for 25 years,” said Christine Sherer, owner of New Moon Café, which, alongside its flagship location in Aiken, has a busy eatery in the JB White’s building on Broad Street. “So, this is not a new experience for me.”
Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate announced on its social media Dec. 28 that the massive coffee shop chain will be opening a location at 1531 Walton Way, at the intersection between Walton and Chaffee Avenue. Currently, seven Starbucks’ stores operate in Augusta. The coffee giant also has a a soluble coffee plant on Mike Padgett Highway. The downtown location is expected to open this coming summer.
Jordan Trotter’s posts about its client’s expected arrival was met with mostly approval from the public online. Sherer and other independent coffee shop owners don’t feel threatened by the coming franchise.
“What I’ve found is that in the short term, it may take a bite out of our business,” said Sherer. “But long term, I think what Starbucks does, either intentionally or unintentionally, is sort of open up the market.”
Sherer believes that the anticipated influx of customers would ultimately prove beneficial to smaller cafes like New Moon, sifting its traffic to other establishments with a more unique flair.
“Somebody who may not ordinarily go to an independently-owned coffee shop may find themselves in Starbucks, order something and find that they like it,” she said. “Once they’ve done that, and they’ve become interested in coffee, they’ll come and find us, and they’re our customers forever.”
Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee has one of its three locations on Central Avenue, a little closer to where Starbucks will be. Co-owner John Curry thinks that distinctiveness and loyalty will ultimately win out.
“I don’t see it affecting us at all,” said Curry. “For the most part, we have two totally different kinds of customer bases.”
Curry launched Buona Caffe with his wife, Pat Curry, from their kitchen in 2010. They opened its Central Avenue location in 2013, and its location inside the Georgia Cyber Center in 2017. They also have a roasting and training center on Reynolds Street.
Curry notes that the new Starbucks location might prove convenient for some, but that the differences between Buona Caffee and larger chain restaurant are so profound that his shop’s following would likely remain devoted, and those attracted to its brand of brew would find them amid Starbucks’ busy circulation.
“We’re sort of off the beaten path anyway,” he said. “People seek us out. They choose to come to our shop.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
