Competition between Kiva Han and Starbucks brewing

In the past decade, the Starbucks Coffee Company has gone from operating 272 shops to… In the past decade, the Starbucks Coffee Company has gone from operating 272 shops to operating 7,225. It is estimated that four new Starbucks open every day, and at the end of November, the Starbucks on the corner of Forbes Avenue and Craig Street was one of those daily four.

The new Starbucks presents fierce competition for the locally owned Kiva Han coffee shop, which is located across the street at the intersection. Kiva Han is expanding its space and menu.

Some people may think that opening stores close to independent shops and feeding off their clientele is a common strategy of Starbucks.

But Valerie Carlborg, community spokesperson for Starbucks, said there is no such strategy.

“We believe Starbucks represents one choice in the Pittsburgh community,” Carlborg said.

She added that customer feedback, particularly in the form of suggestions offered to the franchise’s hotline, determines Starbucks’ choice of locations.

John Mutchka, owner of Kiva Han, is not upset about the new Starbucks.

“I’m not bitter in any way about them being here,” Mutchka said. “That’s part of the business. You deal with competition.”

Mutchka said that Kiva Han is unique, and that there are enough differences between the two for both to survive. He added that strong ties to the community and activist groups, and a dedicated, passionate staff make Kiva Han unique.

“Every single person here has a passion for something outside that they bring in,” he said. “That’s one of our hiring strategies: to hire people based on their willingness to bring their passions here and let their passions grow.”

He feels that employing social activists will help Kiva Han survive.

“Everybody that works here has been involved in some group or activity that has put them in an underdog position, and we are all used to banding together and fighting for what we think is right,” he said. “We are a small, independent coffee shop, and we have large goals, and we are fighting for them.”

Mutchka is also reassured by the fact that a Kiva Han has already gone head-to-head with a Starbucks. A second, smaller Kiva Han opened last year further west on Forbes Avenue, near the intersection of Forbes and Meyran avenues, only a block away from another Starbucks.

Kiva Han patrons said that they would stick with the shop despite the new, big-name competition.

Owen Carmichael, a Kiva Han patron, said he dislikes Starbucks’ location strategies.

“I don’t like that, the way they spread their tentacles everywhere,” he said.

Carmichael, who is from San Francisco, said that he was displeased to see many Bay Area coffee shops run out of business by Starbucks.

Fellow Kiva Han patron Bob Gradick is also partial to locally owned businesses.

“I like to recycle money locally,” Gradick explained.

Gradick agreed with Mutchka that Kiva Han and Starbucks will not necessarily bump heads.

“In the South Side, there are three or four coffee shops, and they’ve all found their niche,” he said

Kiva Han also plans to grow, in spite of the new Starbucks. Recently, Mutchka purchased the corner store next to Kiva Han, which was previously the gift shop History. He plans to make it part of a revamped Kiva Han.

Mutchka and his employees are completing the renovations themselves, using mostly recycled materials.

“We’ve spent minimal money on the renovations, but we’ve gotten maximum effect,” Mutchka said.

More space will not be the only new aspect of Kiva Han.

“We have hundreds of plants on the way. We are getting awnings all the way around [outside],” Mutchka said. “But the big thing is the menu.”

Kiva Han will offer more espressos, Italian sodas and foods.

Mutchka said that he planned the expansion before Starbucks moved across the street. He expects the expanded Kiva Han to open “very soon.”

Mutchka said that he would like to eventually alter the way the store runs.

“In time, we would like to make this a worker-owned and -operated coffee shop,” he said. “Worker ownership is what we want to make a model of here – a traditional business gained through a traditional way – through [Small Business Association] money that gets refinanced and given out to workers who would buy into it. That’s the only way to promote empowerment.”