Starbucks
14 Charleston area locations
Back when we sprang our first BOC on local readers in 1998, Charleston was awash in charming, idiosyncratic, owner-operated coffee shops. (Anyone remember Fulford & Egan?) Yet even with just two Charleston locations at the time — on King at Beaufain and Calhoun at St. Philip — Starbucks ran circles around them all, and it’s dominated the category ever since. In the meantime, the planet’s most recognized java brand (Google “coffee” and see what the top hit is) has tightened its corporate grip on locals’ caffeine jones by 700 percent: there are now 14 Starbucks locations in town, which includes standalone stores and even kiosks in the Pig. You can’t spit anymore without hitting one of the green-trimmed beaneries.
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