Fonville Press In The Wrong Direction?

I thought they were using Starbucks products from the beginning? Isn't Starbucks coffee fair trade?

Can't comment on the Fonville Press brand, but many places serve Starbucks as a "premium brand" or for "name recognition". Scooterbro's restaurant serves it for that reason - he thinks it tastes like crap and he'll drink coffee I've made.

I thought they were getting their fair-trade coffee beans specially roasted from the fine people at Amavida Coffee.

From:Starbucks Fair Trade Campaign Home

"SEATTLE, NEW ORLEANS; October 28, 2008 -
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), TransFair USA and the Fairtrade Labelling Organiations International (FLO) today announced a groundbreaking initiative that builds upon the organizations' shared history of support for small-scale coffee farmers. Starbucks, one of the largest buyers of Fair Trade Certified coffee, will double its purchases to 40 million pounds in 2009, making the company the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world. Marking a new phase in their nine-year relationship with Starbucks, TransFair USA and FLO will join Conservation International as key partners in the Starbucks Shared Planet commitment to ethical sourcing."

try this: go into a $tarbucks and ask for a fair trade cup of coffee. They should break out the french press and brew you a cup.

Starbucks: Fair Trade or “Tradewash”? ? Bean Activist

I love AB and Fonville, but it's the most expensive cup of coffee on 30a

try this: go into a $tarbucks and ask for a fair trade cup of coffee. They should break out the french press and brew you a cup.

Starbucks: Fair Trade or ?Tradewash?? ? Bean Activist

I love AB and Fonville, but it's the most expensive cup of coffee on 30a

I heard throught the grapevine that (pricing) has changed too - a cup of Starbucks joe at Fonville now is like only $1.80 or something and they have specials - like a pastry, piece of fruit and cup of joe for only $4. Anyone know for sure?

This may seem like a novel idea, but has anybody just called Fonville and asked?

Fonville Press Pricing

Here you go...

Large Coffee of the Day $1.85
Large Caf? Americano $2.55
Large Caff? Latte $3.55
Large Caff? Mocha $3.80
Large Cappuccino $3.55
Large Chai $3.60
Large Hot Chocolate $3.50
Double Espresso Shot $2.10

Also, Fonville will be serving BREAKFAST starting mid-February. They will be offering some healthy options like granola and yogurt, fruit salad, fresh squeezed orange juice, and quiche in addition to their selection of fresh baked pastries and amazing (!!) sausage, egg and cheese biscuits (come early, they sometimes sell out).

They are also getting ready to open an additional playground north of “the hill.”

This may seem like a novel idea, but has anybody just called Fonville and asked?

Then we'd never have a thread 80 posts long speculating about it. ;-)

On a semi-related note: is anything happening with the old Starbucks in Rosemary?

Variety is the spice...

Can't comment on the Fonville Press brand, but many places serve Starbucks as a "premium brand" or for "name recognition". Scooterbro's restaurant serves it for that reason - he thinks it tastes like crap and he'll drink coffee I've made.

I really appreciate trying new types of coffee and would think that privately owned shops would want to differ from the competition-- Why serve Starbucks (or any other coffee that you can buy at the grocery store) when there are so many choices out there? Amavida is fine coffee, but I can get that at their store. Be original. Develope your own style, Fonville and others.

On a semi-related note: is anything happening with the old Starbucks in Rosemary?

last time i saw it was empty that was a few weeks back.I also heard there was a clothing stores closing as well on the wild olive side

I don't know what they're using now, but when I worked at Fonville, we used whole bean coffee and espresso from Amavida and ground it fresh for every pot of coffee. Knowing the high standards held by Alys Beach and Fonville Press, I would wager a guess that they have kept with that tradition.

Alys Beach Coffee - the Facts

Foneville did switch to Startbucks moving away from supporting a local company. Too bad! more money is leaving our local community to Seattle.

- At the moment they are not serving Fair Trade / Organic Coffee.
- It is pre-ground, so it is stale.
- They are using pre-ground espresso pods in the best espresso machine in the world lowering their quality. Have a look at the shots being pulled to see if there is any creama. Coffe without crema is not espresso - it is coffee and water.

Starbuck has been pressured to sell Fair Trade coffee and increased its purchases to about 12% of their total coffee volumes. This is certainly a step toward the right direction, yet a long way to and they are still and knowingly are exploiting impoverished communities. They need to be pressured to buy more!

30A is a fragile community as evident in the amount of business closing and individuals loosing jobs. Anytime we invite a company from outside of our community for services and products, money leaves our community that otherwise would stay. Starbucks has no vested interest in our community and do not gve back. Many of our local business owners are coaches, pto leaders, and civic champions. In short, they give back to the community and have a vested interest in shaping the outcome of where we live.

In short those are the facts. The decision on how and where to spend our dollars is a personal decision. Some of us will care, some of us will not. At they end of the day our community will be a refelection of what we allow and support. Hopefully, we will be able to keep our community unique and healthy, diffentiating ourselfs from other ordinary communities that lack creativity and vision.

Great thing about a depression is that people start to care less and less about whether the coffee is fair trade or not. I surely don't. Get people quality products at good prices and that company succeeds (e.g. Walmart). I'll take non-fair trade coffee that tastes good at $1.50 a cup over fair-trade organic that costs $2.50 a cup any day.

Consumer Reports Picks the Best Cup o' Brew

Our top-rated Colombian coffee is also a CR Best Buy

By ConsumerReports.org
Folgers, Maxwell House, and Starbucks are America's best-selling ground coffees. But all three were iced by Eight O'Clock Colombian coffee in our taste tests. As for Starbucks, it didn't even place among the top regular coffees and trailed among decafs....(full story)



I think Starbucks is more focused on selling "lifestyle" than great tasting coffee, and this Consumer Reports' article shows that their coffee is highly beaten by even the cheapest coffee at Publix (8 O'clock).

Foneville did switch to Startbucks moving away from supporting a local company. Too bad! more money is leaving our local community to Seattle.

- At the moment they are not serving Fair Trade / Organic Coffee.
- It is pre-ground, so it is stale.
- They are using pre-ground espresso pods in the best espresso machine in the world lowering their quality. Have a look at the shots being pulled to see if there is any creama. Coffe without crema is not espresso - it is coffee and water.

Starbuck has been pressured to sell Fair Trade coffee and increased its purchases to about 12% of their total coffee volumes. This is certainly a step toward the right direction, yet a long way to and they are still and knowingly are exploiting impoverished communities. They need to be pressured to buy more!

30A is a fragile community as evident in the amount of business closing and individuals loosing jobs. Anytime we invite a company from outside of our community for services and products, money leaves our community that otherwise would stay. Starbucks has no vested interest in our community and do not gve back. Many of our local business owners are coaches, pto leaders, and civic champions. In short, they give back to the community and have a vested interest in shaping the outcome of where we live.

In short those are the facts. The decision on how and where to spend our dollars is a personal decision. Some of us will care, some of us will not. At they end of the day our community will be a refelection of what we allow and support. Hopefully, we will be able to keep our community unique and healthy, diffentiating ourselfs from other ordinary communities that lack creativity and vision.

What's your beef with Seattle? It's a nice town and many good American people live, work, and play there.

Here's another perspective:

Starbucks not only employed a fair number of us local people, but also provided much needed health care benefits, even to their part time employees.

Furthermore , the company encourages & supports community involvements via nearly any project the local store employees choose to engage with. Many employees sponsored, participated, and/or volunteered in various SoWal community endeavors (with Starbuck's blessings and without a bunch of self righteous horn-tooting). Perhaps QUIETLY contributing to communities through their employees is a mistake? God Knows... if they weren't QUIET they'd come under fire for THAT. Catch-22.

Surely you didn't mean to imply that those of us locals who earned Starbuck's wages and benefits (then spent those wages in our community) are somehow unimportant contributors ... or worthy of disdain as 30-A traitors because we were gainfully employed by a company not "headquartered" on 30-A?

I'm totally confused by the point that Starbucks ONLY spends 12% on fair trade coffees and should be pressured to buy MORE, while simultaneously blasting them for exploiting impoverished communities.

Doesn't it follow that if they INCREASE their fair trade they'd be INCREASING the "exploitation of impoverished communities"?? Catch-22, again.

I don't really care whose coffee or koolaid anyone chooses to drink. I just don't agree that Starbucks is the worthless soul sucking monstrosity you describe. It's denigrating to & dismissive of the many thousands of people Starbuck's has previously or continues to gainfully employ (or "exploit" as you describe it).

Grocery Store Joe

Consumer Reports Picks the Best Cup o' Brew

Our top-rated Colombian coffee is also a CR Best Buy

By ConsumerReports.org
Folgers, Maxwell House, and Starbucks are America's best-selling ground coffees. But all three were iced by Eight O'Clock Colombian coffee in our taste tests. As for Starbucks, it didn't even place among the top regular coffees and trailed among decafs....(full story)



I think Starbucks is more focused on selling "lifestyle" than great tasting coffee, and this Consumer Reports' article shows that their coffee is highly beaten by even the cheapest coffee at Publix (8 O'clock).

Not the least expensive, but far less costly than Starbucks, the Publix brand premium coffee is really tasty to me! I still enjoy a "coffee shop" cup when I am on the go, but that first morning cup is neccessarily at home. I agree that Starbucks is not the best choice- strictly based on the product itself. Politics of "fair trade" aside.

For starters, I have nothing against Seattle - a great city, but it is not 30A. All of the products (coffee, paper products, etc.) and services (legal, marketing, accounting, and many other) that Starbuck purchases are not from here, so the money leaves our community. In terms of jobs, they simply left our community, not willing to stick-it our for the long-term, therefore leaving many of the employees un-employed. In terms of benefits, many of the local busineses provide them as well and pay better wages.

The isssue here, is not some much Starbucks as it is the issue of inviting chain stores into our community, thus weaking the character of our community and send their dollars away. We all have dear friends that have built their livelyhood here. They are our neigbors and I expect no one woudl want to see them displaced. Starbucks just happened to make a presence in our community in a strong way and is up against opposition buy those that understand what it takes to survive here.

Anyone that has the privilage to live-in/visit a community that supports their locally owned businesses, and works hard to keep national chains out, understands the essence of this point. They are beautiful, unique communities with with vibrant character. In short they are special and unique.

If we wanted to, we could look like all of the other communites in america and invite all of the chains into 30A. I am sure many here would want that and many would not so there-in lies the dilemma. We do have a choice on how we want to shape our community by where and how we spend our dollars.

Foneville is a beautiful facility and should be an example of this essence. Unfortunatley, some of its glimmer has been dimmenished as it has aligned its brand right next to a brand that promotes supersized lattes, drive-throughs and can be found on the Florida Turnpike truckstops.

Alys beach has been a leader and a champion of new urbanisim, environmental practices, and local living concepts and spent a lot of money and time strengthing their brand around this perspective. I admired them for this, but am concerned about them shifting away from these key values that make them admirable and different from other.

Not the least expensive, but far less costly than Starbucks, the Publix brand premium coffee is really tasty to me! I still enjoy a "coffee shop" cup when I am on the go, but that first morning cup is neccessarily at home. I agree that Starbucks is not the best choice- strictly based on the product itself. Politics of "fair trade" aside.

I was thinking about when it is 2 for 1 pricing, $3 per bag.

I agree with Dune-ahhh. Starbucks is a fine company/product. I miss Starbucks at Rosemary Beach and WaterColor. I miss the people working there. and, yes, I sometimes miss the coffee. If Fonville wants to be a "Starbucks" coffee house, then fine with me. I'm sure they will be serving some very good food, and the people we know and love at Alys are still around.

However, I am very happy to have other choices along 30A. We have some darn good coffee to choose from. They all offer good food too. I'm grateful for them all. not too long ago, almost none of them existed. well, there was one very good little coffee shop "The Place Across the Street" owned by our bestest friends (across from Red Bar). none as fine as their coffee and ice cream!! But, times do change, don't they?

Fonville is changing too. Its going to be just fine. as far as I am concerned, regardless of your personal coffee preferences, we're blessed with coffee on 30A.

I went to Fonville today and the cost of an apple, medium latte and muffin was less than I expected. Yes the latte was Starbucks but it was delicious. So was the muffin.

I also felt more "welcomed" there than I have before -- quite possibly because I felt comfortable letting my 2 year old enjoy the newer play area while I ate outside. I couldn't believe the great playground they are building behind it! It's a great marketing concept, better than fair trade local coffee. I love the idea of fair trade local coffee but frankly anything that makes me feel welcome to bring my kid is my idea of a dream. You can bet I will be going there often.