The Seattle P.I. has an article by Allison Lin that looks at some smaller coffee chains in Seattle and how Starbucks’ success has affected them: “Small coffeehouses thrive in Seattle.”
As other towns worry that Starbucks Corp. will run their local favorites out of business and rob their streets of quirky charm, the owners of several of Seattle’s most beloved independent coffee houses say they have found success by going the opposite route of their big competitor – making a selling point of being small.
Also, here’s a bonus link I found at coffeeratings.net (which pointed me to the article above): Delocator, a service that helps you find “a non-corporate café, bookstore, or movie theater near you.”
Jeff Carlson | Never Enough Coffee Creations 