COFFEE CUPS NOT IMMUNE TO RECESSION
By Carlin Romano

Philadelphia Inquirer
March 3 2009

Is the latte the last thing to go?

Or is gourmet coffee not so crucial after all?

The recession, to be sure, is trickling down. Are java warriors
rapidly economizing?

An unscientific but dogged survey of cafe habitues throughout the
Philadelphia region suggests that change is in the air.

"I pretty much avoid Starbucks because I think it’s too expensive,"
explains recent Temple grad Helen Hale, 24, tapping away on her laptop
in the Green Line Cafe at 45th and Locust in University City.

"Usually I go to Satellite Cafe, at 51st and Baltimore, which is
even cheaper than here. I actually thought of that as I bought my
cup today – that this is a little bit more expensive than theirs."

Over at the register, Ketch Wehr, 24, barista-in-chief for the
afternoon, reported that tips were lower and "traffic’s down by half
since the summer," though he cautioned that some of that was seasonal.

"We get daylong refillers," he noted. "A lot of people are coming
here and looking for jobs, and free wireless." In line with the
economic falloff, Green Line has "cut back on things we order from
other businesses," such as pastries.

Out at MilkBoy Acoustic Cafe, 824 W. Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr,
Bob Carlton, 27, the manager, sounds a similar theme, saying that
"sales are definitely down from a year ago, maybe about 100 bucks a
day, but we’re still doing OK. We’re still turning a profit."

Carlton says MilkBoy absorbed two price increases from its coffee
wholesaler before raising retail prices slightly. Reminders of the
weak economy’s impact occur frequently, he says.

A couple of weeks ago, he confides, the cafe hired as a barista a
25-year-old architectural apprentice "whose firm laid off 75 percent
of its employees."

Just a minute later, at the MilkBoy counter, Patty La Barbara, who
lives in Devon and works down the street as a market researcher,
says the recession has affected her habits, too.

"I hate to tell you this in front of him," she says, nodding toward
Carlton as she splurges on a cup of regular, "but I buy cups with lids
at the Acme or Pathmark. I brew coffee at home and actually take it
to work and heat it up."

Other cost-saving coffee practices appear to be on the upswing –
a populist parallel to new corporate strategies such as Starbucks’
coming addition of instant coffee.

One is the dirty little secret of image-conscious coffee types’
sneaking off to Dunkin’ Donuts for cheaper joe with greater jolt.

Sangeeta Jaiswal, manager of the Dunkin’ Donuts at 16th and Sansom –
it’s all takeout, with no seating area – says, "Some customers come
with Starbucks mugs, but they want our coffee. They say that if they
don’t drink Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, they are not happy."

Cafe denizens across the area also report seeing more peers bringing
personal travel mugs to coffee shops, which gets you anywhere from a 10
percent discount at Starbucks to huge savings – coffeewise – elsewhere.

"I think it may have more to do with the environment than saving
money," reflects Diana Downs, 30, relaxing over a cup of regular
at tony La Colombe on 19th Street off Rittenhouse Square, "but some
places, like my local coffee shop, Mugshots, in Fairmount, offer a
really nice discount – 50 cents off your cup of coffee – if you bring
your own travel mug. I’m sure they save money on paper."

And yet, for all the saving going on, there’s another side of the
story. You can also find that at La Colombe.

"I’m a coffee snob," acknowledges Yadira Torres, 30, a waitress at
National Mechanics restaurant, enjoying an afternoon break. Even
though she has cut down to one cup a day, that cup is at La Colombe
for just $1.50.

Like Downs, who has sworn off lattes ("too expensive" at $3 to $4.50),
Torres also feeds off the "social thing" at La Colombe, a handsome
venue that’s packed much of the time and that has a line out the door
on weekday mornings.

Marvin Sherman, 70, a retired schoolteacher who visits frequently,
provides a testimonial: "I don’t go to Dunkin’ Donuts. First of all,
their coffee is not as good. Secondly, they charge almost the same
amount. And they’re nowhere as classy as this place. It’s probably
the best in the city as far as quality, atmosphere."

That kind of loyalty – rather than a recent Swedish study suggesting
that midlife coffee-drinking can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s
disease and dementia – might explain why hope and confidence spring
eternal for folks who want to run cafes, even in a recession.

In October, just as the recession sped up, Ahavni Terzian, 65,
reopened Cafe Clave, a Cuban-themed spot, at 4305 Locust, the same
site where she ran a cafe in 2003.

"Business is not the greatest, but it’s OK. It pays the bills," she
says, unfolding the tale of how she, an Armenian born in Romania,
and her husband, an Armenian from Cuba, came to Philadelphia and
raised four sons here.

It helps that Terzian owns the building.

One of her baristas, Joy Payton, a 12-year veteran of multiple
noncorporate cafes who dislikes Starbucks (but who agrees that
"people love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee"), waxes philosophical in sizing
up the scene.

"People want what they want, and they want what they’re used to."

"Sometimes I think," she says, "what would the United States be
without coffee? It wouldn’t work, it just wouldn’t. So many people
are addicted to coffee. It’s really, really hard to keep up the pace
of American life if you’re not caffeinated."