compton, the home of gangsta rap, and starbucks?

Say hello to the worlds newest Starbucks location, Compton, California. When most people think of Compton, they think of gangs and rap music, rather than $3.00 lattes and yuppies. Tough is an undersatement for the streets of Compton. This city, just outside L.A. averages 40-60 murders every year. Compton lacks several things, probably the most evident being a police force. Graffiti covers the fences and bulidings in the area, and city council corruption, though unfortunate, is common. The newest location of Starbucks isn't quite the same as the first location, Seattle, Washington.

Starbucks first opened in 1971 in a supermarket in Seattle. By the early 1980's several independent Starbuck's locations could be found all over Seattle, and were beginning to spread into neighboring states. By 1990 there were 84 locations throughout the northern states. The Starbucks takeover was beginning. All of the Starbucks locations drew in intellectuals who liked to read books and drink outrageously strong coffee, and were willing call a small "tall" and large "grande". Since the early 1990's Starbucks has expanded at a rate so fast your head will spin. The most recent number I could find stated that there are 9,671 Starbucks locations around the world.

Many will read this asking themselves "what does this have to do with American history?" Though I do agree that maybe Starbucks isn't necessarily a huge part of American history, the fast food revolution is however an enourmous part of American history that will affect us as well as future generations. The principle of the point im making is that the rate at which fast food chains expand is absoloutley mind boggling, and somewhere in the future, the history of Starbucks, McDonalds, and Burger King will be in text books.