Give me a $4 latte or give me death

The civic crisis sparked by the closer of 600 Starbucks locations rolls on.

The L.A. Times mulls the potential loss of access to lattes in inner-city neighborhoods, a column headlined “A closing Starbucks is a symbol of lost hope and luxury.”

Starbucks is about more than a cup of coffee in many neighborhoods. That block-letter logo on a strip mall marquee can be considered a public stamp of approval, a symbol of hope, a suggestion of brewing economic vitality.

That’s why a new Starbucks in the inner city tends to produce the kind of excitement that suburban neighborhoods reserve for the debut of a Bloomingdale’s….

The writer visits a couple of locations in south L.A. that are on the closure list; neither is doing much business. An inquiry to the company gets her a response about “shareholder value.”

The losers are those loyal customers who considered it a privilege to join the cultural mainstream, sipping overpriced Frappuccinos. For them, losing the neighborhood Starbucks is a rebuke that stings.

The Dallas Morning News (via Starbucks Gossip) says:

Starbucks is an iconic brand that means something more than just a company. It’s become a sign of middle-class American modishness. To get a Starbucks in your neighborhood meant that you were validated, in some sense…

For Starbucks to leave means that your part of town, in terms of social psychology, is downwardly mobile. That, I think, is what most rattles folks about losing their Starbucks, even if they rarely went there. It’s a status thing.

Well I just hope this continues to gather momentum. I want the presidential candidates to be grilled about this crucial issue at town-hall forums: What do you plan to do, Senator, about the loss of Starbucks locations and resulting status diminution of the affected communities?

Foreclosures and bank failures — that’s one thing. But we’re talking about a loss of access to the “cultural mainstream” here! Maybe a government bailout is in order. …

Also: From the comments to yesterday’s related post, Braulio contributes this link to an interactive “Save Your Starbucks” feature on Slate.

[7/23 Update: Via uncivilsociety.org, more Starbucks lamentation in Newark: “The cafe in downtown Newark is in some ways unique, a high-profile sign to all the people who fear the city that life is normal.”]