What happens when a landlord evicts a neighborhood coffee shop to make way for a Starbucks? The story of East Village favorite the Bean is told by Jim Dwyer in today’s New York Times, with plenty of dramatic moment like this one:
Standing in the crowd awaiting ritual squirts of caffeine and soy chai and medium foam was a middle-aged man with a briefcase, a roll of drawings under his arm, and a measuring tape.
“I said, ‘How can I help you?’ ” Mr. Puglia [the manager of the Bean] said. “He said, ‘I’m here for the renovation.’
“I said, ‘What renovation?’
“He says, ‘For the Starbucks.’ ”
- Oliver Strand
