I believe the reason that Say When closed is because of the hours that the store was open. It closed to early in the day, compared to Caribou and Starbucks. I preferred Say When coffee and frequented the establishment, but because of the early closing I would have to go to Caribou. The other possible issue was the service; it was sometimes slow. Others would fail to remember that there were people behind them in line (big complicated orders or forgetting something).

I liked Say When's atmosphere and the coffee (always recommended the place to others). Starbucks stinks and I try never to purchase my coffee there, only when I travel outside Minnesota/Wisconsin, I would end up having to go to Starbucks.

I don't think its fair to alude in this story that it is the corporations that caused the failure. Say When was the best place for my daughters to get hot cocoa/chocolate especially the white hot chocolate (the others' cocoa is gritty and not very chocolaty). Anyhow..miss Say When but not surprised that it closed. It is not the new Starbucks fault...the place survived with the 2 Caribou and 1 Dunn Brothers.

CTC or Coffee to Cream (near Goodwill) is still open and I don't think they are having any problems. Check out CTC's store hours -- they are open later in the evening, just maybe that is the problem.

Tami told me the impact from Starbucks during those months was one of the factors in deciding to close. She didn't know what percentage of her business had declined, but said it was "enough." I took this to mean Starbucks hadn't killed her business, but it was making enough of a dent and she suspected it would continue to do.

On another note, both she and the owner of Poor Mary's talked about how people will go for the brand name, even if it's not any better or any cheaper. That's a symptom of our society today and you see it with everything from restaurants to auto shops to clothing stores. It's sad because every suburb or growing town in the Twin Cities is starting to look just like the other. Think of what makes Stillwater downtown unique. It's not big box retailers, it's cool little businesses. Remember Yarusso's Hardware? You can't find anything like that in many towns anymore. There's definitely added value in many of our locally owned business. The owner's incentive of working hard and providing a good service is a lot more than the person hired off the street, whose career isn't their part-time or entry-level job. If a hired worker for the local business isn't doing a good job, the owner will quickly hear about it. The owner is in the buisness for the long haul, which means reputation is paramount.

They also have a long-time stake in the community.
Another point, made by Mary of Poor Mary's (formerly also Say When), is the local businesses are the ones giving money to local groups. She remembers parents who'd show up with their Caribou Coffee to sporting events sponsored by Say When.

I agree that it isn't up to Starbucks, Caribou or whomever to not move into an area just because there are pre-existing businesses there. But people need to wake up and realize that if they don't solicit local businesses than all that's going to be left are a bunch of the same corporate stores that you can find anywhere.

This thread is flippin sweet!

I agree with kailus that it's thy neighbor who frequents the national chain that contributes to a downturn in the local business owners pocket book, but on the other hand you have wilbursgirl's well emphasized point about the hours of operation at Say When after the change in ownership. Both of which are going to reduce the revenue coming through the door.

With that being said, how much time did the new ownership have to prepare for the competitions opening day? A little bit of competition is sometimes good for business. It may increase the "fear factor" of being in business for yourself, but it will often be a great motivator to try an increase the business coming through the door prior to the "grand opening" of the competitor. Maybe like staying open later into the evening or adding internet access or trying whatever new things one might think of to increase business.

I'm just hopeful that it will reopen and then we can all meet there and talk about this blog over a great cup of coffee among the company of great people!

justinlindahl,

Tom Thumb???

Explanation.

Thanks Justin, I didn't understand your post. Your explanation helped.

Again - it's been a while since the last post, but I saw it for the first time today and had to respond. There was a comment made by flippin sweet that said "how much time did the new ownership have to prepare for the competitions opening day?". I would think that anyone that's lived in Shakopee for more than two years know what an expanding place this city is - for residential and business. To no be prepared for competition moving in - whether or not it's across town or you're sharing a wall in a strip mall - is a major oversight by a business owner.
And I'm definitely not a Starbucks fan - I think their coffee tastes bitter and I've never gotten a drink there that I enjoyed.