Local Cafe "Delocater"

Since he was a teenager, my son has said that people who frequent Starbucks are "feeding the beast." Even though I knew he was at least partly right about that, I've still managed to get in my 2-3 trips there every week.

Today independent media outlet Media Mouse comments on the Grand Rapids Press and WZZM TV 13 giving "free publicity" to a new Starbucks location in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel downtown. Both media outlets covered the store's opening as "news," and Media Mouse gave a rundown of things the chain has been crticized for.

Which is a really long-winded way of telling you about Delocater. It's a site dedicated to preserving local cafes by pinpointing them side by side with the Starbucks franchises within a five-mile radius of any ZIP code you type in. The idea is that once you become aware of them, you would of course want to take your business to the locally owned cafes. From the "Why Delocate" page:

Currently, independently owned cafés around the world are under aggressive attack; and their numbers have been sharply decreasing for many years. Delocator.net is a means to preserve these local businesses.

Near my house are two Starbucks stores plus a Beaner's franchise. (Delocater concerns itself only with Starbucks, however.) Almost as close are seven independent cafes. One of them, Common Ground, I've blogged about; the other is Beanabox Cafe and I've visited there a few times. Both are great places and unlike Starbucks they have free Wi-fi. So why, again, do I visit the franchises so often? Hmmm.