Peet’s Coffee & Tea at Lumière
Jan 2, 2008 coffee, general food
In other Lumière Place news, I also noticed last night that they’ll be the location for Missouri’s first Peet’s Coffee & Tea.
It’s a fairly similar business model to Starbuck’s, so I don’t really expect good coffee from it, but it is worth mentioning as Peet’s is the original inspiration for Starbuck’s. Their founders had known Alfred Peet personally and in fact purchased beans from Peet’s in their first year of business.
Later, one of Starbuck’s founders, Jerry Baldwin, purchased Peet’s with some other investors and then sold off his Starbuck’s shares in 1987 to focus on Peet’s. With about 150 stores nationwide, some might consider it to have been the wrong choice as Starbuck’s operates around 15,000.
Tags: Lumière Place, Peets-Coffee-&-Tea, Starbucks
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January 5th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Peet’s coffee is so much better than starbucks. It is fresh roasted and their focus is on quality not quantity (hence fewer stores).
January 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Well, I certainly don’t doubt they’re better than Starbuck’s.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
While Lumiere is the first Peet’s location in STL, the coffee is served at Puck’s at the art museum. Here’s a blurb I wrote about it for the Daily Sauce: http://www.thedailysauce.com/issue/F/2573.
BTW, I just discovered your blog and really like it. And congrats on Sauce gigs; I like the literary feast articles and look foward to your real deal articles…my gourmet guru review also debuted in the January issue.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Peet’s is the right choice if you want quality coffee. (Example: never order a Starbucks grande latte with an extra shot of espresso or you’ll be left holding an expensive, undrinkable cup of dirty dishwater). The very first Peet’s store is at the corner of Walnut and Vine in Berkeley, California. Many former students and postdocs from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco who moved outside the state still obtain Peet’s coffee via mail order. Alfred Peet died last year at age 87, rest his soul. His legacy is vast, as represented by Starbucks, which he really had nothing directly to do with, but his quality is best represented in the current chain of Peet’s.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
BTW: for a time, St. Louis Bread Company restaurants served “Peet’s” coffee, which may have been true, but it was certainly not brewed to Peet’s standards. Similarly, I’ve never been impressed with the flavor of Peet’s served by Puck’s. But the brewed coffee served at Peet’s stores is entirely different and really wonderful.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Do you work for Peet’s? It seems like it.