Gourmet Coffee

Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., which reported slower-than-expected sales growth for July, saw its stock weaken yesterday for the second time in a week.Yesterday's 12 percent drop to $41.875 a share reflects concerns about the gourmet coffee retailer's ventures to extend its brand, rather than signaling a slowdown in consumers' consumption of specialty coffee drinks, analysts said."The businesses they're going into that are not retail store-oriented are ramping up a little more slowly than expected, and the costs associated with them are greater than expected," said Andy Barish, an analyst with BancAmerica Robertson Stephens in San Francisco.

Charles Kelley stands in Baltimore's historic Lexington Market, chowing down on a Faidley's overstuffed crab cake sandwich. It doesn't bother the 37-year-old North Carolina man that the market doesn't have gourmet coffee, wine or cheese shops. He's OK with the faded signs and the dirty floor. As jumbo lump crab meat spills out of his sandwich, Kelley is in a state of bliss. "I've had crab cake sandwiches all over," he says, "and this is the best. " While devotees such as Kelley, who come from long distances for the renowned seafood at the 231-year-old market, are content with their surroundings, city officials are hoping to attract a broader audience.

As coffee bars continue to expand and show no sign of waning in popularity, for older Baltimoreans, the mention of Starbuck's or Gloria Jean's Gourmet Coffee, for instance, must inevitably recall memories of the Smith Punch Base Coffee and Tea Co. and the C.D. Kenny Co., two former hallowed and cherished local purveyors of the heavenly bean.The C.D. Kenny Co. was founded by Rochester, N.Y., native C.D. Kenny, who arrived in Baltimore in 1872 and opened a coffee, tea and sugar store at Lexington and Greene streets.

It is a retail confrontation: McDonald's versus Starbucks, a real-life struggle pitting a fierce fast-food chain with 30,000-plus stores against a fierce gourmet coffee chain of more than 14,000 outlets. The world is their playing field. Some contend these two companies aren't direct competitors. But as they seek to increase profitability and expand worldwide, it is inevitable offerings and style will morph a bit. There are only so many ways to drink and eat quickly, short of intravenous feeding.

Her three children are strapped safely in the back of the sport utility vehicle, and Elise Reekie needs her morning latte for the drive to sports camp. But there's no time to get to the nearest gourmet coffee place, unbuckle the kids and strap them back in, so Reekie heads for the drive-through coffee kiosk in Edgewater for her large almond skim milk latte. "I need my special coffee; it's psychological," Reekie says. For other picky coffee drinkers pressed for time, Coffe No Delay has become a lifesaver.

Charles Kelley stands in Baltimore's historic Lexington Market, chowing down on a Faidley's overstuffed crab cake sandwich. It doesn't bother the 37-year-old North Carolina man that the market doesn't have gourmet coffee, wine or cheese shops. He's OK with the faded signs and the dirty floor. As jumbo lump crab meat spills out of his sandwich, Kelley is in a state of bliss. "I've had crab cake sandwiches all over," he says, "and this is the best. " While devotees such as Kelley, who come from long distances for the renowned seafood at the 231-year-old market, are content with their surroundings, city officials are hoping to attract a broader audience.

Cinema Sundays at the Charles will resume this Sunday with a look at an amusing film by a well-known American independent. The screening, at 10:30 a.m., will be introduced by a Baltimore movie critic (who does not work for The Sun).The event marks the beginning of another three-film miniseries at the downtown art theater, with other showings set for July 9 and July 16.The series promises high-quality art house films weeks before their commercial release, although titles are never announced in advance.

A common thread runs through shops in West Annapolis, where the owner likely will be the person behind the counter, a nearby resident and a woman.Owners of the couple of dozen specialty boutiques in wood-frame former homes lining Annapolis Street couldn't say for sure why."It's just the nature of the beast," surmised Claudine Hawkins, a 25-year-old who opened The Red Balloon, a children's consignment shop, last month. "Black-Eyed Susan is needlepoint, and Papagallo -- you wouldn't expect a man to run them, not the type of shops we have."

GM again cuts production forecastGeneral Motors Corp., citing slow product launches and soft sales of luxury cars, slashed another 30,000 vehicles from its fourth-quarter North American production forecast yesterday.The reduction, which was larger than many Wall Street $l observers had expected, prompted analysts to trim their earnings estimates for the giant automaker and predict more difficult times for GM.Since September, GM has cut more than 80,000 vehicles from its fourth-quarter forecast for North American production, reflecting continued problems with new model launches like those for the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire.

It is a retail confrontation: McDonald's versus Starbucks, a real-life struggle pitting a fierce fast-food chain with 30,000-plus stores against a fierce gourmet coffee chain of more than 14,000 outlets. The world is their playing field. Some contend these two companies aren't direct competitors. But as they seek to increase profitability and expand worldwide, it is inevitable offerings and style will morph a bit. There are only so many ways to drink and eat quickly, short of intravenous feeding.

THIS IS A STORY about the old dog in my house who exists now mainly to sleep all day and rack up huge veterinary and grooming bills. I'll tell you this: When the dog gets his hair cut, he's treated better than the president of the United States. Here's what happens: First, a big white van pulls up to the house. Then a woman comes to the front door and gets the dog and carries him into the van. Carries him! The dog doesn't even have to walk! Tell me something: Does this ever happen to you?

Whether you make it at home or get it from your neighborhood shop, that cup of morning coffee is about to get a lot more expensive. Blame it on the weather in other parts of the world and on your fellow coffee drinkers, who are drinking more cups of joe. Don't be surprised if a $4 coffee drink appears soon on the menu board at your favorite gourmet coffeehouse. Droughts in Brazil and Vietnam and continued high demand are conspiring to drive coffee prices to new four-year highs almost daily.

All trends start somewhere, and for the sake of argument, you could call Santa Cruz, Calif., the cradle of the soy latte. Colleen Crosby recalls making her first one in 1978, not long after she and her husband opened a coffeehouse there. A friend who was into two of Northern California's signature passions -- veganism and gourmet coffee -- had wondered if the Italian drink of steamed milk and espresso could be done with no animal products. Crosby remembers shoving a pitcher of soy milk under her espresso machine steamer and thinking, "Hmm," when it came out. "It looked like silly putty," she says, laughing.

Her three children are strapped safely in the back of the sport utility vehicle, and Elise Reekie needs her morning latte for the drive to sports camp. But there's no time to get to the nearest gourmet coffee place, unbuckle the kids and strap them back in, so Reekie heads for the drive-through coffee kiosk in Edgewater for her large almond skim milk latte. "I need my special coffee; it's psychological," Reekie says. For other picky coffee drinkers pressed for time, Coffe No Delay has become a lifesaver.

A grocery store used to be a place to shop. Now grocers want their stores to be a place to stay. With salad bars, hot food and deli foods to go already staples of grocery offerings, chains locally and nationally are going a step further into restaurant territory by opening coffee bars in their stores, complete with pastries, sandwiches and a cozy place to sit and chat. The retailers say they are following a growing national trend of gourmet coffee shops that's too huge to ignore, and at the same time finding a new way to attract visitors and keep them a little longer.

CRANBURY, N.J. -- Starbucks' coffee at a rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike. Free access to the Internet when you pull off Exit 8A South. Flowers in the restroom. Can a Pokemon convention along this stretch of Interstate 95 be far behind?If the New Jersey Turnpike offers a glimpse into today's motorist, then travelers want more than a place to stop and fill the tank or grab a bite to eat. If the future of America can be glimpsed on the 148-mile highway -- as two Jersey cultural historians contend -- then the future is the Molly Pitcher Travel Plaza and Tristen Kwan.

Roger Hitman is tired of drunken strangers, loud music and alcohol. Looking for a friendlier and more sophisticated scene, Mr. Hitman -- like many other area young people -- now frequents Howard County's coffeehouse scene."

Here's a simple recipe that makes good eating (in six weeks) and great gifts to save for the holidays. Use as a topping over ice cream, pound cake, flan and bread pudding. Add to chocolate cake or brownie batter. Or combine with other fruit in season.Brandied CherriesMakes 1 1/2 quarts2 pounds fresh sweet cherries, pitted2 cups sugar1 quart brandyCombine and mix well. Store in tightly covered jar in cool place for 6 or more weeks. Portion into canning jars for gifts and store in a cool, dark place.

As coffee bars continue to expand and show no sign of waning in popularity, for older Baltimoreans, the mention of Starbuck's or Gloria Jean's Gourmet Coffee, for instance, must inevitably recall memories of the Smith Punch Base Coffee and Tea Co. and the C.D. Kenny Co., two former hallowed and cherished local purveyors of the heavenly bean.The C.D. Kenny Co. was founded by Rochester, N.Y., native C.D. Kenny, who arrived in Baltimore in 1872 and opened a coffee, tea and sugar store at Lexington and Greene streets.

Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., which reported slower-than-expected sales growth for July, saw its stock weaken yesterday for the second time in a week.Yesterday's 12 percent drop to $41.875 a share reflects concerns about the gourmet coffee retailer's ventures to extend its brand, rather than signaling a slowdown in consumers' consumption of specialty coffee drinks, analysts said."The businesses they're going into that are not retail store-oriented are ramping up a little more slowly than expected, and the costs associated with them are greater than expected," said Andy Barish, an analyst with BancAmerica Robertson Stephens in San Francisco.