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May. 23rd, 2009 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
patgundA Fan Hits a Roadblock on Drive to See Every Starbucks - After Coffees in 9,000 Stores, Winter Gets Jittery as Outlets Start Closing
"He has been to more than 9,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S., Japan, Lebanon, Turkey and 13 other countries in the past dozen years, a trek chronicled on his Web site, starbuckseverywhere.net. He gained some notoriety mid-decade, when he was the subject of media reports and a documentary film, "Starbucking." He has "mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies," he concedes, and a "mild addiction" to coffee.
These tendencies are growing more acute as he tries to stay a step ahead of Starbucks' corporate offices.
In 2004, Starbucks had about 8,500 stores world-wide. By last year it had almost twice that many. Then the company started shutting stores -- first announcing 100 closures, then another 500 last July, and 300 more early this year. To the inconvenience of a certain committed patron, the chain doesn't disclose which stores are doomed until shortly before they close.
"I am in a race against time," Winter says.
Born Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr., Winter is single and has no kids. When he's not on the road working on software contract jobs, playing in Scrabble tournaments or visiting Starbucks, he lives with his parents in Houston, where he stores his collection of 10,000 super-hero comic books."
"He has been to more than 9,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S., Japan, Lebanon, Turkey and 13 other countries in the past dozen years, a trek chronicled on his Web site, starbuckseverywhere.net. He gained some notoriety mid-decade, when he was the subject of media reports and a documentary film, "Starbucking." He has "mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies," he concedes, and a "mild addiction" to coffee.
These tendencies are growing more acute as he tries to stay a step ahead of Starbucks' corporate offices.
In 2004, Starbucks had about 8,500 stores world-wide. By last year it had almost twice that many. Then the company started shutting stores -- first announcing 100 closures, then another 500 last July, and 300 more early this year. To the inconvenience of a certain committed patron, the chain doesn't disclose which stores are doomed until shortly before they close.
"I am in a race against time," Winter says.
Born Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr., Winter is single and has no kids. When he's not on the road working on software contract jobs, playing in Scrabble tournaments or visiting Starbucks, he lives with his parents in Houston, where he stores his collection of 10,000 super-hero comic books."
