Competition puts coffee shops through grinder

Closings of area independents highlight difficulty of finding niche as Starbucks gets bigger

By Courtney Blowers
Beacon Journal business writer

Coffee is hot.

As in popular. More than half of American adults drink coffee every day.

Hot as in big business. Coffeehouses are popping up across the country with regularity.

This can be both a blessing and a curse for the independent coffeehouse owner. Increasingly, owning a successful independent coffeehouse depends on a delicate brew of local flavor and that intoxicating coffeehouse atmosphere.

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