In Millbrae, no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape Starbucks — there’s another one awaiting every turn. At this point, it feels less like a coffee chain, and more like a takeover. With so many stores packed into such a small town, people aren’t just purchasing normal coffee, they’re drinking more Starbucks. Meanwhile, smaller cafes are pushed into the background, struggling to compete with Starbucks’ takeover. And beyond that, the overconsumption has become its own problem—so intense that it now leads to arguments and even fights over limited-edition merchandise.
Starbucks’ overwhelming presence in Millbrae has pushed independent cafés to the edges of the town. Now that Millbrae has three different Starbucks locations, smaller cafés have been pushed onto quieter streets instead of the busy central areas where they would get more attention. Starbucks draws customers away from smaller businesses because coffeehouses such as Milli Café, Brothers Café, and Binka Bites Bakery Café, don’t stand a chance against their marketing machine and customer loyalty. Less visibility means less money for small shops, which can lead to closure and hurting employees financially. By multiple Starbuckses being jammed into one area, it is contributing to the vast issue of overconsumption.
Overconsumption itself is already a big issue because people end up spending more money on things they don’t need. With a Starbucks on every corner, it becomes easy to justify “just one more drink,” and those small purchases add up quickly. What feels like a harmless habit can slowly turn into a daily expense that drains your wallet. And not only that, but most of Starbucks’ drinks are packed with sugar and calories, so drinking them regularly doesn’t just drain wallets — it affects people’s health, too. However, in Millbrae it is getting harder and harder to resist. It feels like no matter where I turn, that green mermaid logo is always staring at me, attempting to lure me into the store.
Starbucks also fuels a kind of pressure. The seasonal drinks and limited-edition cups are marketed so aggressively that people feel like they have to buy them before they’re gone. This creates a cycle of urgency that smaller cafés can’t compete with. We can see this with the recently released limited-edition “Bearista” cups.” These cups have sparked major hype, becoming the newest trend on TikTok. They have become so popular that the cups are being sold for over $500 on sites like eBay and Amazon, despite originally being marked as $29.95. This isn’t just a sign of high demand, it shows how consumption has also become performative: people are buying these items not because it’s a necessity, but because owning them proves that you’re part of the trend. This is a problem, not only because it is obviously ridiculous, but even worse, grown adults are now fighting over them in stores. Let this cup be used as a symbol as one of the many things that have gone wrong with modern consumer culture.
Overall, Millbrae’s Starbucks overload shows how consumer culture has taken over our town. Until we push back and support local cafés, the green mermaid will keep shaping our habits. We can also change the habits that Starbucks encourages—like always buying the newest drinks or stopping in just because it’s convenient. By keeping our choices simple, visiting less often, and buying only what we desperately want, we can cut back on the overconsumption built into Starbucks culture. Small choices like these help both our community and wallets.
