The struggling coffee chain has tapped Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol to be its new chairman and CEO, effective September 9. Starbucks’ stock soared more than 13% in premarket trading, while Chipotle’s dipped 8%.

Niccol has been leading the Mexican-inspired food chain since 2018, with Starbucks saying he has set “new standards in the industry and driven significant growth and value creation,” pointing to its revenue growing nearly 800% during his tenure.

  • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 month ago

    One thing that confounded me when I went to Starbucks for the first time. Asked them for a large black coffee. Since their coffee is way overbrewed so it can be mixed with stuff, it was super strong super hot garbage.

    Someone later told me to order it with a little ice to make it drinkable and dilute the flavor.

    My question was: why can’t I just buy coffee at a coffee place?

    Have a stack of 5-10 year old Starbucks gift cards I’ve collected from various work functions that are still valid. I still haven’t gone back. They can’t even get me as a free customer.

  • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Starbucks is sugary, trash water. Brew your own coffee at home. Costs way less, tastes much better, and it’s significantly healthier compared to the flavored milk they sell.

    • PlantJam@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      And if you make cold brew in advance, it’s saves a lot of time in the morning. It’s even good heated up in the microwave, but I drink it iced year round.

      • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        In my experience, anyone I’ve ever known who is earnestly writing a book or a screenplay doesn’t shut up about it, regardless of whether they go to Starbucks or not.

    • quicklime@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Meanwhile, what they serve at Chipotle is not worth even half of what they charge for it.

      • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        Yeah both these companies have been run into the ground in my opinion. They’re just coasting on inertia at this point.

  • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.netOP
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    1 month ago

    I used to love Starbucks because it was a great place to get coffee and chill. Then the whole anti-unions thing, and local coffee shops did it better making me drop Starbucks.

    I used to love Chipotle because of their quality and price. Then portions got weirder. Every week was a new food recall. The ones near me look filthy and sad, and that made me drop Chipotle.

    To see both of their names together… Yikes.

      • schizo@forum.uncomfortable.business
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        1 month ago

        You’re looking for the place that uses paper plates, has a website, but clearly took the picture of their food 10 years ago with a Motorola Razr.

        • pdxfed@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Website? Negative ghost rider.

          You’re looking for the place with the small self-serve sauces, jalapeños and pickled carrots &onions. Never tablecloths. Strip mall locations only if located in the US Southwest. Wheels +3 to menu, -1 cost modifiers. +5 to taste if Latinx customers eat there.

            • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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              1 month ago

              As long as the latinas don’t mind

              Just FYI, it was Latinos that were behind the term.

              Gringos don’t care, because they don’t speak Spanish.

            • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              1 month ago

              I live in the southwest US and see a lot of events and organizations use Latinx. If it was only local government using it without community input or something you might have a point, but it’s kinda weird to act like Latino run organizations somehow don’t know their own opinions. Some organizations even use both Latino and Latinx depending on if they’re speaking in Spanish or English, and somehow I feel like you’re not ready for Latine.

          • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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            1 month ago

            Spanish is a completely gendered language. None of them want or use the term Latinx, and they think people trying to use it are morons. The X in Latinx can’t even be conjugated in Spanish. The only ones trying to make Latinx a “thing” are Caucasians from the US.

            • pdxfed@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              I work with a bunch of people who are Latinx who prefer it and think those who don’t use it are dinosaurs. Almost like people have different preferences.

  • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I prefer just black coffee. No milk, sugar.

    Out of all chain coffee places (in the UK, so costa/nero etc), starbucks has the worst tasting coffee

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      In the US, it is mediocre. I wouldn’t say it is terrible and if I am in a different city that lacks local shops, I’ll get it. But it is definitely not my first or even 10th choice. And no, the light and medium blends do taste burnt like everyone and their mother thinks it is cool to say. Those people are almost certainly getting dark roast.

      Luckily I live in Seattle and have no issue finding good roasters and cafés that are not anti union.

    • kata1yst@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Yes, true of most any national/international chain.

      It’s because they value large volume, year round availability, and high consistency from their beans and roasts, so that no matter what location you go to it tastes exactly the same.

      To do that, they select and blend several bland varieties of coffee bean, put them through an aggressive industrial cleaning and drying (which reduces the natural fruity and funky flavors but minimizes costs) then roast them in huge batches to several steps past where a normal roaster would stop for a given roast (a darker roast gets rid of more of the unique flavors of the coffee cherry and brings out more uniform roast flavors instead).

      Again, not something exclusive to Starbucks at all, and plenty of small coffee shops don’t bother with the hassle and just buy cheap bulk coffee pre-roasted by large scale operations and will have similar results.

      But man, when you get coffee made in small batches, with natural processing or even fermentation and gently roasted… It’s an entirely different experience.

      • count_dongulus@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Any time you blend beans from different places together, you get a bland coffee. I don’t think any mega size coffee shop can ever beat locals just because scale demands won’t allow non-blended beans in the supply chain.

      • barsquid@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        It’s just weird that any chain would opt for consistently awful instead of just settling for slight variations. It’s also weird that people still buy it despite the fact it is objectively and consistently bad.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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          1 month ago

          People tend to value consistency of flavors a lot more than you seem to realize. Having something taste exactly how you expect it to is very comforting even if the taste isn’t that good. That’s basically the whole reason McDonald’s stays in business.

        • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          People who are going to Starbucks often aren’t drinking black coffee. They get some sugar, cream, and flavor combo such that the coffee is barely noticeable. It is coffee for people who don’t like coffee.

        • Bonesince1997@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          I don’t mean any offense but it sounds like that’s what you’re missing. People don’t seem to value taste as their number 1 concern. Probably convenience of some kind (or the fact that they are everywhere). Sounds like SB is having trouble at the moment, but they’ve had the same shitty coffee for forever and they’ve done alright previously.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Their coffee in the U.S. is the worst too IMO, aside from the occasional awful gas station coffee and I wouldn’t be shocked if they were buying Starbucks roast since they also sell it in bags in supermarkets. But, of course, it’s like McDonald’s- no matter where you go, you know what it will taste like. So people rely on it.

      I avoid it as much as I possibly can (it doesn’t help that I used to work on a show in L.A. that was partially sponsored by Starbucks and it was that or our other sponsor, Red Bull, if I wanted caffeine while working). The only times I go when I’m not traveling and have to make a caffeine pit stop and there are no other options is when all the other local coffee places are already closed since they all close earlier than Starbucks and I want to sit somewhere not at home to do something.

      Other than that, I always go local. And here, a lot of the local places have drive-throughs, so even that convenience Starbucks offers is unnecessary. They’re usually cheaper than Starbucks too. And, of course, better coffee.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          That’s what I hear, but I’d rather go to a local place. I always try to support local businesses over chains when possible. Even if it’s just a place I’m visiting, I’d rather support their local coffee chain than put more money in McDonald’s or Starbucks coffee. And I’ve discovered a lot of really nice places to hang out that way.

          • Nougat@fedia.io
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            1 month ago

            I wholly agree, but if you’re not in a headspace where you’re able to “deal with” searching out a local shop in a new area, and just need something good and predictable wherever you are, McD’s coffee definitely fulfills that need.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              That does make sense. Especially when traveling on an interstate and you just need a pit stop. I might do that instead of Starbucks in those situations from now on. Thanks!

    • InquisitiveApathy@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      As someone who also only drinks black coffee I agree. Their signature taste is literally burnt because of the way they roast their beans. It’s terrible.

        • Wahots@pawb.social
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          1 month ago

          Same thing goes for tea. Lipton is super bitter. Imported teas from london don’t get bitter regardless of how long they are steeped. They actually taste and smell galaxies different than that “generic bitter tea smell” that much of the world is conditioned to.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            As the son of a Londoner (but in the U.S.), I agree 100%. That said, I’ve switched to Irish teas because they’re stronger.

  • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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    1 month ago

    Was the revenue growth because of his guidance, or despite it? The boom of pickup and delivery in the past few years for places like Chipotle couldn’t have hurt. I haven’t been in one of their places recently without wondering how they’re staying in business, or why people keep coming back. That’s true of a lot of fast food places though…Carlin was right, we love to eat. Anything.

  • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Schultz came out of retirement just to shit on unionizing efforts and then pass it along. Just a little union busting, as a treat.

  • Tilgare@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Strange that I am in active boycott of two restaurants, and it happens to be both of these places. Not for anything high minded - they both discontinued their chorizo offerings, the only thing I liked on either of their menus. Happened 7 or 8 years ago now, and I won’t go back.