This is my Starbucks. The one on the corner of Broadway and Diamond Spring Road. I put it here and Morris County owes me a debt of gratitude. Let me explain.
Go back to 1995. Starbuck's were few and far between over here on the right coast. I was in San Francisco (one of my favorite cities) on a business trip. My room in the downtown Marriott was more money per night than the monthly rent on my first apartment. So when I went down for breakfast I was stunned to see that the buffet (rubber scrambled eggs, cold bacon, warm fruit, stale coffee and self service) wasn't free. Instead, it was $18. This was 1995! That's like a million bucks today. Anyway, I went out to 4th and Mission looking for a deli or coffee shop and a 3 buck breakfast. Across the street I saw a Starbuck's. "What's a Starbuck's?", I said to no one in particular. A surfer dude / street person said (in pure California speak) "Whoa, man, like Starbuck's is totally gnarly! You gotta get a hit man, it's sooooo cool." Naturally, I tried it - decaf Latte' with lemon poppy seed bread. I sat on their out-door tables looking at the passing parade. Man, I was hooked. I went there every day to start my day and wanted to move to the City By The Bay to get my daily fix.
When I got home, I told my wife (she is more of a coffee junkie that I) and together we explored NYC, looking for a Starbuck's. We found one in the east 80's and when she tasted the goods, she too was hooked. We both agreed that we needed a Starbuck's in Denville so I grabbed a comment card and send them a note. Basically, I told them that the present coffee shop at the corner of Diamond Spring and Broadway was a bust - they need to buy the property and put a Starbuck's in there. I knew that the spot was HOT and would be successful. I think I guaranteed it.
Months went by and little by little Starbuck's put shops closer and closer to my home base - Westwood, Montclair, Morristown and suddenly, Denville! In the very shop I suggested.
So as you sit in MY Starbuck's, sipping your brew, raise your cup to yours truly. It's there because of me.
And although Starbuck's has never even given me as much as a coffee mug as thanks, I get my reward with every purchase. Plus, my wife thinks I'm a hero and that's all that counts, right?
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