With three major Corner District coffee shops competing for business from caffeine lovers, Espresso Corner, Espresso Royale Caffe and Starbucks have turned to different strategies to cater to their own type of customer.
"We offer a classical environment which differentiates us from our competition," Ty Harris, manager of Espresso Royale Caffe said.
Espresso Corner is distinct from the other coffee shops in that it has its own bakery with baked goods made fresh daily instead of being shipped in and refrigerated like many other coffee shops.
Starbucks has expanded its store from selling coffee and plastic mugs to cards and picture frames in hopes of attracting more customers. According to manager Lynn Jones, it's the Starbucks name and national reputation that keeps the customers coming back.
"People know that they can get the same quality if they're in Charlottesville or if they're in Seattle," Jones said.
The oldest coffee shop, Espresso Corner, opens their business to host events such as dance parties and community meetings. Club Vital, a popular international dance event, was one of the first dances held at the shop.
"We're owned by local people and we're more about community," John Saoidis, a manager at Espresso Corner said.
In addition, Espresso Corner has a computer with a DSL line for people to check their e-mail or do work with a nominal fee of 10 cents a minute.
All of the stores largely depend on word of mouth for publicity. Occasionally, a few promotional ads are printed. Starbucks recently printed a free breakfast drink coupon in several newspapers, which Jones says has been used tremendously by her customers. Espresso Corner sometimes runs ads supporting various clubs or activities while Espresso Royale Caffe has a different promotional drink every month, "This month it's a cup of tea for a buck," Harris said.
Price range between the stores varies, with Starbucks being the most expensive.
Jones offered some insight as to why Starbucks prices are higher. Their roasted coffee beans are thrown away every hour if they are not used. The beans also are roasted longer to get a better flavor, and more beans are needed to make one drink.
The next most expensive shop is Espresso Royale Caffe. "We like to be in the middle of the road," Harris said.
That leaves Espresso Corner as the least expensive of the three.
"I call up the stores and ask for their prices and undercut them all," Saoidis said.
With the three coffee shops located in the same area, one would think that competition is tremendous. But according to Harris, Espresso Royale Caffe has been doing 35 percent better than this time last year.
"When Starbucks first opened we lost about 10 percent of our business, but now we're doing pretty well," Harris said.
"We each just sort of do our own thing," he said.
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