Chains of Fools


By Rex Butters

With the familiar logic that fuels corporate strategies, another downtown Venice vacancy has fallen to chain store occupation, as the Quizno sub chain opens an outlet across the street from the Subway sub chain outlet. What crack team of highly paid marketing consultants extensively surveyed the area to determine that Venice needed two generic, flavorless, mass produced sandwich shops, one boasting the ability to toast, within such close proximity to each other? Is there that much overflow?


Last year, the local papers applauded the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council’s unanimous vote in support of a chain store ban on Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk. Someone forgot to throw a fence around down town. Despite hard won efforts to preserve the unique character of our landscape, another space yields to indifferent blandness, hoovering money out of the community in the process.

Recently the LA Times Up ran a repulsive puff piece amounting to a free 1/8th page ad on redundant coffee chain, the Coffee Bean, claiming it’s new Venice store has been embraced by locals after initially encountering rough waters. The savagely twisted imagery of the lovable corporate underdog earning its place in the community, bravely driving out local business, further boasted a foto of the store with (kill me now) a skater in the foreground. (Note to Times Up creative director: Linda Ronstadt went home.)

As usual, the Times Up had their backs to the real story, Cafe Collage, the local coffee house, a 15-year success story/institution, across the intersection from the Coffee Bean. I asked owner Jane Park what she thought of the article:

“You know what? I didn’t see it, but our customers did and they were very upset. I believe a couple of our customers got very active doing something about it. I think they called the newspaper and complained to them about how it was untrue. Whenever something like this happens, more than the owners, it’s the customers that get upset. The whole idea behind Venice is to keep everything local, no corporations, but when you have an ad like that, it’s very upsetting.”

In 15 years, had the Times Up ever run a happy local promo piece on Cafe Collage?

“From my knowledge, no. But, their [the Coffee Bean’s] managers and all their guys come here to get coffee. So, I don’t know, I don’t want to bad mouth Coffee Bean. But when you have their employees coming here to get coffee, it says a lot.

“There were a lot of people who were upset. Some of our customers went to Coffee Bean and complained to them, and it’s not their fault. It was a corporate decision to put that ad out there, and unfortunately a lot people went over and harassed the poor employees. It was very upsetting to everyone, because it just isn’t true. I see some new businesses coming in, Bondi Bar B Q, I know Danny’s hasn’t been here that long, I want everyone to do well and be successful, be healthy. But the article was upsetting because it wasn’t true.”
What sets you apart from a business controlled by focus groups a thousand miles away?

“I think people love and respect the fact we’ve been here forever. People appreciate the fact the owners do come out every day, and there’s something to be said for that. We’re very heavily involved with the cafe. We try to keep a close relationship with the customers that come in. Most of the customers that come in, we know exactly what they want. There’s not a huge turn around with our employees, too, because we keep a close relationship. With big corporations, I notice with Subway and Campos, their employees are always turning over, and that’s a disadvantage. Customers appreciate seeing a familiar face. Our manager’s been here for 15 years, since we opened.

“We wanted to do some remodeling, and instead of just doing what we want, we’re getting input from customers, and they’re actually very involved in our redecorating, down to the chairs and lighting, to the fans. It’s like this big family.”

Posted: Tue - May 1, 2007 at 09:23 AM          

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