SELINSGROVE -- Two new Starbucks on the Golden Strip in eastern Snyder County may be grounds for excitement among some coffee drinkers, but nearby competitors greet the Valley debuts of the ubiquitous chain shop with a yawn.

Along with Dunkin Donuts, Brewers Caffe and Kind Cafe, Starbucks is a player in a coffee war that is percolating on the Strip, one that may boil over once McDonald's introduces its expected McCafe with the opening of its rebuilt restaurant in December.

The multi-billion-dollar take-out, drive-thru, sit-down-and-sip coffee industry war will see a new front with the arrival of Starbucks in Monroe Marketplace, a shopping center that opened along Routes 11-15 earlier this month.

But Julie Korbar, who sells coffee, isn't buying it.

"Our regulars in the morning will stay," said Korbar, a co-owner of Brewers Caffe in Hummels Wharf. "Five years ago, there wasn't a coffee shop in the area, and now there are five places selling coffee within just a few miles of each other. It should be interesting."

Joshua Grubb, who manages the Kind Cafe on Market Street in downtown Selinsgrove, says the local culture may not bode well for Starbucks.

"This," he said of the shop owned by his father, Richard, "is a local gathering place. People walk here. They come in to chat, to talk politics."

He just doesn't see how Starbucks will be able to develop that kind of following, and he's not even sure how well Starbucks will go over among travelers on the Strip.

Locals, he said, may think Starbucks' coffee is too fancy or too expensive.

Throwing down the gauntlet

Danielle Aeillo welcomes the competition.

She is the general manager of several Dunkin Donuts stores in the Valley, including a location less than a mile from the new Starbucks.

Though the battle between Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks can be viewed as a coffee war, Aiello doesn't see it that way.

"We all have the same product line," she said.

Although she estimated that coffee and other drinks account for at least half the business at the stores she oversees, she believes the recently expanded food items and other products give Dunkin Donuts the advantage.

Polls agree.

Survey says

A national poll of 26,000 coffee drinkers conducted by the Brand Keys firm found Dunkin Donuts leading the pack, 8 percentage points ahead of McDonald's and 10 percentage points ahead of Starbucks.

Dunkin Donuts' own survey in 10 cities compared its brew with Starbucks' and claimed 54 percent of the polled subjects liked its coffee best, while 39 percent preferred Starbucks. The remaining 7 percent had no preference.

"We have our loyal customers," Aeillo said. "Half our customers come in here every day. Some of them go to three or four of our stores every day. Some of them start coming in at 4 a.m. They meet different friends at each one and have a coffee. They know our crews, about their families.

"And we know about them."

That's because unlike the competition, Dunkin Donuts is the only coffee shop open 24 hours a day. That enabled the chain to sell 1.5 billion cups of coffee last year, according to an Oct. 22 report in Advertising Age. Dunkin Donuts spent $107 million on advertising compared with Starbucks' $38 million.

Figures on the number of cups of coffee Starbucks sold in 2007 were unavailable.

A Starbucks fan drinks up

A self-described Starbucks fanatic, Jeremy Hummel, of Selinsgrove, is excited at the prospect of not one, but two of the coffee shops frequented by the beautiful and the hip in Central Pennsylvania.

"Their coffee is much better than the others," he said as he waited for his pumpkin spice latte to be created at the small Starbucks inside the Target store in Monroe Marketplace. A second, free-standing Starbucks is slated to open Nov. 5 at the entrance to the Monroe Township strip mall.

"I make Starbucks coffee at home," Hummel said, "but I like to come out to have the specialties."

Hummel, a professional musician, said he became a fan of Starbucks when he was on the road. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, there are often Starbucks coffee shops on every block, and he was a regular customer.

"I was elated when it came here," he said as he sipped his drink. "I like the seasonal specialty coffees, like the pumpkin spice in the fall and cinnamon in the winter."

Too many choices?

Joshua Grubb, of the Kind Cafe, said he thinks people may be overwhelmed by the choices at Starbucks, which features 18 different coffees, along with teas and hot chocolate drinks. Customers can experiment with varying combinations of ingredients to "customize" their drinks. In fact, Starbucks brags that it serves 87,000 combinations.

Grubb's Kind Cafe offers 19 choices, ranging from the $1.18 regular 12-ounce coffee to the $4.50 "Flashpoint," which features four shots of espresso and steamed milk.

Dunkin Donuts serves up a regular coffee for $1.55. It offers half a dozen flavored coffees, with its $3.25 cappucino at the high end of the cost scale.

Prices at Starbucks range from $1.65 for a 12-ounce regular coffee to $3.80 for the pumpkin spice frappacino.

Brewers Caffe offers five types of coffee, all selling for $1.33 for a 12-ounce cup.

But refills are free.

"That," co-owner Korbar said, "keeps 'em coming back.

Starbucks' customers define stores

That Hummel, the Selinsgrove musician, keeps coming back to Starbucks delighted the company's group marketing manager for the northeast region.

"It's a great place for people to relax," Mike Lenda said from his office in Philadelphia.

While he admitted that a Starbucks in Bloomsburg didn't do well and closed after less than a year in operation, he said the new store at Monroe Marketplace is "a sign that Starbucks is alive and well."

Most Starbucks stores are company-owned, he said. The smaller stores such as the one at Target are licensed.

"Those stores, like the ones in airports, serve a specific purpose," he said.

According to the company's 2007 annual report, Starbucks-- founded 25 years ago in Seattle -- has 15,000 stores in 43 countries. The company's revenue was $9.4 billion.

Part of the Starbucks mystique, Lenda said, is that each store develops its own personality, based largely on the people who patronize it.

"We want it to become the third place' for people, after their homes and their work," he said. "It's a place where people can gather."

Every Starbucks offers wireless Internet and, Lenda said, the company encourages sales people and other to use their stores as an office. Book discussion groups and other community meetings are encouraged.

Many of the new stores also serve a variety of food. Every Starbucks, Lenda said, serves oatmeal, and stores work with local bakeries to produce baked goods from Starbucks recipes.

"We offer many things to many people," Lenda said, "from a plain cup of coffee to the high-end espresso."

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