It'll be hard due to their already established clientelle plus the allure of their popularity which leads new coffee drinkers to run immediately to their nearest locale.

A franchise will be hard to compete because prices are going to be similar, but independantly, keeping your overhead low to lower your prices would be the first step (while ensuring quality product).

Sure, there are plenty of other chain coffee places as well as many independent coffeehouses that compete directly with Starbuck's here in Seattle (in many cases right across the street or next door).

Typically rather than compete on price they offer higher quality, a different atmosphere, or things you can't get at starbucks (full menu, beer and wine, bookstore cafes, etc)

I've seen this in a few other cities as well so I don't think the ability to compete sucessfully with the 'McDonalds of coffee' is by any means limited to here.

Many people don't particularly care for Starbucks coffee or for the atmosphere in their stores so if you can find those people you can make a go of it.

I think a lot of the places Starbucks has supposedly put out of business either had crummy coffee, bad service, or all the atmosphere of a donut shop or gas station.

People tend to think that having Starbucks as a competitor is the death of independent coffee shops. But in fact, the opposite can be quite true in many circumstances.

Ward Barbee, publisher of Fresh Cup Magazine, THE magazine of the espresso industry, during a chance meeting I had with him at NASCORE one year, told me how when people ask him for advice on opening a successful coffee shop that he tells them, "Find a Starbucks, open a shop across the street and serve coffee roasted a bit lighter than theirs."

It's true, that's what he tells them, and those that have tried it have found it works. Starbucks' roasting profile is actually darker than most people like, and most people with taste consider it somewhat burnt in flavor. People go to Starbucks for the predictibility and consistency. But give them an alternative with equal convenience, serve a decent cup of well roasted coffee, have consistency in the quality of your espresso drinks, and you can pull quite a crowd.

Sure, it might seem counter intuitive at first, but it really does make sense.

Yes - Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills is on the same block as a Peets and Starbucks.

Pets's Coffee is owned now by Starbucks and also Seattle's Best. So they are trying to put independant coffee houses out of shop.... those basterda.....

I think that Javaberry is a real competitor. There is a strong case for it. Some of the parameters that determine the taste of coffee show that Javaberry is much better. And it becomes more and more popular.