So Starbucks bought some little French bakery in northern California?
Oh, non, my friends, non. If you want to understand the living, beating pulse of the tech world today, you must understand the phenomenon that is La Boulange, the 19-café chain that Howard Schultz & Co. just dropped $100 million on.
First, the baked goods: We hear they're delicious. We'd be all over them if we ate carbs.
The coffee: superb. Coffee snobs like GigaOm's Om Malik are freaking out that Starbucks is going to ruin it, of course.
The locations: prime real estate if you know the neighborhoods where tech insiders live. For example, precious North Beach won't let national chains like Starbucks anywhere near. But La Boulange is right there on Columbus Avenue. In Palo Alto, it's on University Avenue right by the train station. It has a location in Hayes Valley, Web-hipster central.
But don't take our word for it. Look at how worked up everyone is getting! Over a bakery!
Noooooooo!!!!!I love LaBou as an independent.Starbucks Is Buying This San Francisco Bakery For $100 Million businessinsider.com/starbucks-buys…
— Tom Rikert (@tomrikert) June 4, 2012
Whoa, Starbucks is buying the place I get french toast at for $100m. foxbusiness.com/news/2012/06/0…
— Nikhil Nirmel (@niknir) June 4, 2012
I hope giant drinks don't get introduced to La Boulange > Starbucks to buy La Boulange for $100 million bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/b…
— Rebecca Reeve (@Rsquared) June 4, 2012
Starbucks to buy SF's @LaBoulange, replace current pastry lineup bit.ly/M7P4Wx. Good move, but I'd sure miss my maple walnut scone
— Wade Roush (@wroush) June 4, 2012
Starbucks buys french bakery La Boulange for $100m to "popularize french bakery experience in the US" april fool?! see.sc/ig7951
— Loic Le Meur (@loic) June 4, 2012
Attack of the bad coffee continues: @starbucks aka liquid mud maker buys la boulange. Guess whats off my list. blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer…
— Om Malik (@om) June 4, 2012
I have a feeling that coffee is about to get better at LaBoulange. bit.ly/K8Acxe
— Deborah Petersen (@DeboraPetersen) June 4, 2012