Starbucks on the Outer Banks

The Outer Banks is about to get their first Starbucks Coffee in Kitty Hawk.  It will be located at mile marker 1 in the Food Lion Shopping Center.  The coffee shop along with an Italian Ice shop will be across the street from our award winning ABC store. 

We are very fortunate to have a few awesome coffee shops here on the Outer Banks.  The Front Porch Cafe has two locations (mile marker 6 and 11).  They roast their beans at the Kill Devil Hills location and both offer free wi-fi access. 

Comments

[Bill]

I knew it could not be long before Starbucks came here!

I actually do not mind Starbucks, but it would be nice if we were to get a Trader Joes or a Whole Foods here on the OBX? Do you think there is any chance of that...or more likely, to our dismay..., a new Super Reef will pop up somewhere within 300 ft of a Super Wings?!? At least, thats Nags Head town planning at its best!

[Ronnie Roach]

Bill,
Don't throw the planning department under the bus. Planners help implement long range goals for future growth - they don't pick what store will be on what corner.

[Brian]

Now,now Ronnie,
Don't let this new Starbucks drive you and Montey berserk!
Simply latch onto our IP address, like you know how, and send them an ugly email...heck, tell them you'll sic the Beachhuggers on them. That should scare them out of town, for sure.

Brian
p.s. Tommy says hello.

[Ronnie Roach]

I don't think Starbucks will drive anyone crazy. If the Beachuggers drink coffee - I am sure they would welcome you with open arms. Just be sure not to threaten anyone and you should be O.K. Caffeine and aggression don't work well together.

[Robin Hartleben]

There is a song I love by a Florida singer/songwriter named Jack Mosely. One of his songs is called "my little town by the bay" and I always think of Kitty Hawk when I hear it. One of the verses is
"Yeah people come to live here from everywhere
They say they like the quiet peaceful small town atmosphere
Then they start changing things to better suite their ways
And when it’s gone they’ll wonder where it went
My Little Town By The Bay"

I really like the song....................

[Bill]

Well...the town planning office is part of the building permit approval process, and I am sure that when plans come in for a new Super Reef store to be located 300ft from an existing Wings, and less than 1/4 mile from a different "beach" super store, some planning official is stamping approval on these building permits.

Exactly what are they thinking..., or are there simply no other options for these valuable pieces of commercial space along the bypass?!?! Every time construction is implemented within some space in Nags Head, that structure will be there for a long time. Four beach junk stores within a quarter mile of valuable Nags Head space, seems a complete waste to me, and not very good strategic long term planning. From the loss of commercial small business along the beach road in favor of monster beach houses, to Super Reefs peppered along the bypass, the planning within Nags Head seems quite off base.

[Ronnie Roach]

Bill,

This is a complicated subject - I will create a post to describe the process. I will try to get input from the Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills Planning Departments.

[Bill]

Sounds great Ronnie! I would be quite interested to learn what is going on in the current and long term planning strategy and where the "influences" come from?! An interesting question to planning decision makers is why, in particular, at least 4 super beach junk stores are located within a quarter mile stretch of bypass in Nags Head? Do these businesses really draw that much demand to warrant up to 4 in such a limited space? I find that logic quite hard to believe since their inventory is all the same junk manufactured in China, and the period of demand would only be the summer months. Even when I attempt to find any information online about these businesses, detail is quite limited. Google searches return next to nothing... Perhaps a little "investigative" blogging is needed.

[Dave]

Hey Ronnie.

Just discovered your posts.

There are good and bad things associated with the entre of Starbucks into a market. It acknowledges the commercial viability of that market and Starbucks is always one of those indicator companies that paves the way for other multi-nationals. While I am no cheerleader of the uber-chains, I do admire their ability to effectively market themselves in whatever market they enter.

Naturally, I would love to see a local company like Front Porch Cafe win the contest against the multi-national. But one thing I've encountered, not only here but in other markets I've lived, is the lack of thought that goes into marketing a business for continued and positive growth. I think there is an assumption that "everybody knows" about a business and that marketing is a peripheral element limited an ad in the local Visitor's Guide. But. as you know, as well as an expanding tourist market, a few thousand people move here every year and those folks "don't know" about most businesses. They most likely aren't aculturalized to the market and, thus, will seek out the familiar versus the better. This is where local businesses fall short in that they don't seem to make an effort to target this vastly growing segment of the permanent population.

For coffee addicts, Starbucks may not produce a superior product but, like McDonalds, they are ubiquituous and consistent. When I travel at a leisurely pace I hunt for the small coffee house but, when I'm in a hurry or traveling via the interstates or airports I know that I will find that well branded green logo to get my fix. I think that's Starbucks strategy here. By placing themselves near the Virginia gateway, they can be sure to garner a huge percentage of traveller business who "know" what to expect from Starbucks even though, just a few miles down the road is a much better, locally made product. Once Starbucks has a toe hold, they'll continue to add more stores. Free enterprise dictates that Starbucks has every right to enter any marketplace they choose. But effective, well planned marketing by their local competitors could assure that they don't dominate the marketplace.

The song makes a great point about everyone wanting to change the paradise they discover. The fact is, this is a very natural and human tendancy. The question is, do the locals draw a line in the sand and refuse to adapt to the change thus speeding their extinction or do they evolve and proactively respond to the changing business dynamic in an effort to maintain their prominence?

My hope is the latter.

[Ronnie Roach]

Dave,

Thanks for the comments. Well said and welcome to the Outer Banks.

[John K.]

Great series of posts discussing the Starbucks scene and planning in general. I also lament the entry of Starbucks into the market but purely for selfish reasons. My hope is that the independents will thrive as many do when Starbucks arrives in their area. Don't forget that one of the best places to open a coffee shop is right across the street from Starbucks. Cheers!