Another community coffee shop goes under

[elfs]

Sixty Meters

The Olympic Coffee Shop has closed. There used to be two independent coffee shops within walking distance. Once closed within weeks of Omaha and I moving into the neighborhood; I never went there. The other, the Olympic, held on tenaciously until the end of October, and then it just quietly closed up shop. Now there's just one coffee shop within walking distance-- a Starbucks. Well, that and the Starbucks kiosk inside the QFC grocery store 60 meters away from the Starbucks.

I have mixed feelings about the failure of The Olympic. On the one hand, they were the best place to go if you wanted peace and quiet, if you wanted a cafe where you could write or hack without interruption. They offered free wi-fi, and the clientele was quieter and more polite.

On the other hand, their coffee wasn't even as good as Starbuck's. They tended to go for bitter roasts that didn't appeal to most. They tried to bolster their line with food and smoothies, but they failed to advertise their food and smoothies, so the only people who knew were those who already went. And while they always had a loyal clientele, that clientele was aging and getting older, and not many new people were coming in.

I hate to say this, but Starbucks just tried harder than the Olympic, and that's why the Olympic went under.

Comments

[rhonan.livejournal.com]

Another point is that if their coffee is bitter and over-roasted, they are choosing to compete head to head with Starbucks. Only a fool competes with someone bigger by offering the same thing with a smaller advertising budget.

[fallenpegasus]

I've worked in the Olympic a couple of times.

You are right about the coffee. They did have comfortable seats tho.

But the really annoying thing was that they closed early.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

I forgot about that! What was with them closing at 4pm on weekdays?

[fallenpegasus]

I think the owners thought they had a "job" instead of a "business".

After the 2nd time getting burned that way, I quit going.