Go to any large city or general metropolitan area and you’ll see Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Even in my local city, we have northwest native Dutch Bros. Coffee.
I only go to the larger chains for convenience but I much rather prefer local coffee spots due to their larger connection to the local area but also for the better quality coffee and ambiance of just sitting in a cafe and reflecting on the day and even getting some freelance work done.
Whenever I get the chance to go to Knoxville Tennessee, I always make a point to visit the plethora of coffee shops scattered downtown, but I am really happy that the amount of local coffee shops in my hometown of Gallatin Tennessee as well as neighboring Hendersonville are increasing in number. Some places I love to get my coffee are Black Press Coffee (they have three locations near me). Also Stomping Grounds which has two locations. There is also a cafe called Kave which I still plan on trying out.
The main reasons why I prefer local spots are:
- Ambiance
- Local Influence
- Private Ownership
- Competitive
- Always striving to be better than their competition
- More likely to listen to the customer base on how to improve or add to their selection
- Less food choices (but also gives ability for higher quality choices, potentially)
- They FOCUS on their coffee which in turn makes close to the best quality product.
The reasons why larger national chain spots are good:
- Consistency in pricing
- Consistency in quality (although this could be a negative, since they don’t always improve)
- They are pretty much covering different demographics
- They can also make use of third party delivery for those who need it.
- More food choices to supplement their coffee.