Community protesting due to new Starbucks opening

Tuesday, September 24 marked the grand opening for a new business in Little Village. A little coffee shop known as Starbucks, perhaps you’ve heard of it.

The local church tolls its bells. It’s 9 a.m., and the doors of the Starbucks swing open, ready to embrace their first customer with a warm smile. Instead of a line stretching a city block, they are met with a gray sky that reflects a solemn mood. The hot pink walls of the international coffee brand pop out on the tinted day. Nevertheless, there is still hope for the new Starbucks: a group of people approach from across the parking lot. Yet, upon a closer look, they don’t seem particularly eager for an apple crisp oat milk macchiato with vanilla cold foam; rather, they’re fueled by the strong black coffee brewed from the flame of their stovetop. They march along and in unison chant, “From the west side to the south, Starbucks we want you out!” while raising signs that read their campaign slogan ni una gota – which translates to “not one drop.”

 These protestors represent the part of the community that is in uproar about the Starbucks opening in Little Village. Protestors and activist groups such as The Little Village Community Council urge the people of Little Village to not support the Starbucks business. They believe the corporate giant doesn’t align with the values or the culture that the community represents. Protestors fear that Starbucks’ arrival is a threat to the Mexican culture and family-owned businesses that have built the foundation of the Little Village community. 

“We are fighting for our image,” said Baltazar Enriquez, Director of the Little Village Community Council.“We are trying to keep it a Mexican neighborhood. We’re concerned that Starbucks will steal our culture, our flavors, and push drinks such as a horchata frappe or marzipan latte. We support local businesses – this is what made Little Village – small businesses! We’re trying to keep this a Hispanic community because it was not handed to us, we had to work hard for our strong community. We have to let them know the community runs the neighborhood and that we have people power.” 

Little Village is one of the cornerstones of Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago. Known for being the principal port of entry for Mexican immigrants to the Midwest and dubbed La Villita, 81% of residents in Little Village are Latinx, 75% are Mexican/Mexican American and 37% are foreign-born. With first and second generation families, so much authentic culture runs through the streets. It has been a neighborhood of struggle, a neighborhood of community, and protesters believe Starbucks strips Little Village of being uniquely Hispanic. 

“Small businesses can’t compete,” one protestor Mona commented. “Not only does it raise the prices, it makes it like every other neighborhood; turns everything into the same.”

 The stand against Starbucks today is to prevent Little Village from being another cog in the machine of capitalism. Along with the cultural distress, Starbucks also poses a major economic concern to the community. 

“It brings gentrification to the neighborhood,” Enriquez said. “Real estate agents selling a house can say, hey, one of the amenities is that you can walk to Starbucks. The community cannot afford the prices of Starbucks’ coffee, we support local businesses like La Baguette that sells coffee for 2 bucks.” 

Fear that the new Starbucks location signifies gentrification in the area is another reason for the protest. Residents and local businesses are the roots of the strong community and gentrification can be seen as a threat to the hard work they’ve poured into the neighborhood. Starbucks points in a direction that strays away from that. It points to an increase in property value and a greater cost for local goods in order to compete. In 2018, three economists, Edward Glaeser of Harvard University, Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca of Harvard Business School, released a study that used Yelp data to provide new insights into gentrification at the neighborhood level. 

Their study found that when a Starbucks is introduced into a neighborhood/zip code, the surrounding properties rise by 0.5% within a year. The broader point of the study concludes that gentrification is associated with exogenous factors of a neighborhood. Starbucks’ arrival confirms the beginning of the gentrification trend. This is what the community of Little Village fears the most. When people are pushed out of the community, the community loses its roots. The essence of what makes Little Village a staple Latin area in the Midwest is its residents, it’s the culture of the people. Without the people and their stories, without their bond tethered by the same struggle and goals, there is no community. Little Villagers don’t fear a prospering community, however, gentrification pushes in the direction of a certain lifestyle that a community is forced to adopt and adapt to. The fear of losing the ability to live a sustainable and modest lifestyle in Little Village is what concerns residents. 

Two weeks before the opening day, the Chamber of Commerce held a last minute meeting to let the community know about the new Starbucks location, as a courtesy to the people. Starbucks sent Latin representatives to advocate for the new location and form a connection with the community, hoping to further sway attendees with confections stacked on fold-out tables. But the purpose of the meeting was set in stone – the new Starbucks was opening, regardless of Little Village’s concerns. The community vowed right there and then to protest.

 History is doomed to repeat itself. This only parallels the colonizers of Mexico. The community feels like it’s under attack from a foreigner, that foreigner being the Chicago Chamber of Commerce. The city has turned a blind eye to Little Village before, but now wishes to encroach on their strong community. Chicago has seen this play out with other communities such as Cabrini Green and Logan Square. The public housing of Cabrini Green and its residents were forced west and south because of ludicrous qualifications required to renew housing. Before its affluent residents Logan Square was predominantly Latin. However, since 2001 nearly half of the population has been displaced. The Little Village community makes a stand that transcends overpriced coffee – they make a stand for the people who have fallen victim to the double-sided effects of gentrification. 

“They try to pretend that they care about the community, but they don’t,” Mona said. “It’s no different than what happened with colonialism in Mexico… it feels very close to my heart.”

Header by Noel Reyes