Here is living proof that the former Wendy’s site, next to the Gran Plaza mall in northern Merida, will very soon be a hang-out of all the local wanna-be’s who can afford to spend 40-60 pesos for their coffee.
One has to wonder why people get so upset about Starbucks coming into an area – Starbucks isn’t exactly pointing guns at people’s heads to make them buy coffee there are they? I mean if it bothers people so much, don’t go and Starbucks will eventually leave. Business is business.
The Critic also wonders what all the coffee places are thinking? Will they re-train their staff to be better, friendlier and faster? Or will they throw their hands in the hair, stomp their feet and whine that it’s ‘unfair’.
The Casual Restaurant Critic gets a special kick out of the folks (American Walmart Bashers mostly he suspects) who lament the demise of the “traditional cafés” in Merida!
Let it be known: There are no traditional cafés in Merida!
A brief history of coffee in Merida:
The first one to offer a cappuccino was Mario’s, a hole in the wall in Plaza Fiesta that served some pretty horrendous cappuccino complete with heavy carnation cream as milk and watery sweet coffee. This was in the mid-80’s. From way back (probably as far back as the time of the Conquista, judging from the size of some of those rodents) there was the rat-infested Louvre who, along with many others, served (some still do) a piss-poor excuse for coffee, also known as agua de calcetin because it had the consistency and flavor of water that a well-used sock had been soaked in.
All the rest of the cafés in the Yucatan served Nescafé instant coffee. If you wanted black coffee, you got hot water along with your chipped plastic cup and a jar of Nescafé. Café con Leche? No problem – you got the same chipped grey plastic cup, this time filled with hot instant Nido milk into which you poured the instant coffee granules.
All the other coffee places came much later – Italian Coffee, the Coffee Factory, Segafredo, Café Havana, VIPS, Sanborns – and none of them are local.
This isn’t Veracruz folks! There isn’t even a tradition of drinking coffee in the Yucatan. Please don’t make the ridiculous accusation that Starbucks will hurt all the local charming cafés because that’s just a crock. Starbucks will only hurt them if they offer a superior product, in a superior environment, at a reasonable price. The Critic sees the latter as a problem, since Starbucks is pretty pricey and Yucatecans are pretty tight with their pesos… this could lead to a problem for Starbucks once the initial furor has worn off and the status quotient has reached it’s zenith. Are there enough gringos with enough cash (remember that many come here because it’s cheap and so are in the same boat as the Yucatecans) to support this Starbucks?
Anyway I will be in there from time to time for an espresso con panna, although I can already get this at Segafredo (they use artificial whipped cream though, ugh) and Italian Coffee, where it is pretty darn good.
Your comments are always appreciated.
DEAR SIR OR MADAME,
I am an avid Walmart hater and I often go there to shoplift and spy. If you see me checking it out at the register with a cart full of stuff shoot me. But please don’t shoot me with bullets you’ve purchased at Walmart.
But, big But, I have to agree with everything you say here about Starbucks and the State of Crappy Coffee. And that State is the Yucatan.
They don’t have a fricking clue what capucino looks like, smells like or tastes like any place in town. I’ll be shocked if Starbucks in Merida sticks to their worldwide formula’s and recipes. The Hindu’s are not going to order a burger at McDonalds in Dehli and the locals are not going to drink a real cappucino, even at Starbucks.
I say bring it on!
Couldn’t agree more with you, we are not Veracruz…
But it doesn’t mean us “huiros” don’t appreciate a nice sip of good coffee instead of the crap you usually get even at the so called “Italian” Coffee.
You mentioned Mario's near Plaza Fiesta.
I just wanted to let you know that Mario's is still there (as of 3/2009). Mario has a tiny hole-in-the wall restaurant/snack/cafe place that is inexpensive and perhaps the only place in Merida where you get a free coffee with breakfast! It makes a nice stopoff if you're going to Plaza Fiesta and don't feel like going to one of those mall food court places. Mario is a pretty nice guy who always treated us great when we went there. Tell him Scott (from New Mexico) sent you.