So literally 2 days after i write my coffee rant, Starbucks announce they're closing 60 stores in Australia. Apparently they can't compete with the local coffee chains. The two biggies in Melbourne are Gloria Jean's (actually an American chain that's only taken off in Australia - overly milky coffee and homophobe-backed to boot) and Hudsons (couldn't make a strong coffee if their life depended on it). Brisbane have The Coffee Club, which i don't remember being awful, but they don't have stores here. And it appears my beloved Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has been closed for good - the sign in the window now says "access blocked by landlord", whatever that means.
On the upside, all the Starbucks they closed were in the suburbs and states outside of the big three, so as it turns out all the handy downtown Melbourne stores are still open. No more Carlton store, though (no great loss). Still, where am i going to get coffee on the weekend when i go to play basketball without passing downtown?
they're closing a lot of starbucks here, too. soon there will be only one per corner!