Free Coffee for a Month

The flurry of coffee shops entering Beaver County over the last few years has been impressive. At a time when the "coolness" of coffee seemed to be waning, small business owners who care about the community in which we share are taking chances and brewing up some joe. With the growing economy of Beaver County comes other chain-coffee shops. These chains add a bit of corporate sameness that I welcome into the county--mainly because they are open later.

A year or two ago we got our first Starbucks. That was a pretty big moment for me. Although I don't think Starbucks has the best coffee, they do have some pretty unique Fair Trade blends. I don't go to the Starbucks in the county often, but I'm glad it's there.

Most recently, however, we got our first Panera's. This is an even bigger event than the opening of the Starbucks. Panera's has some good standard coffee, but they have a chicken salad sandwich that I would kill for (seriously, if I were hired as a mercenary for some secret wing of the government, and they were like "We're paying you in Panera chicken salad sandwiches... and sometimes a side of chicken noodle soup" I would do it). I've said before that I prefer Panera's over Starbucks but any reason previously stated has been trumped by this store's most recent opening.

They gave me free coffee for a month.

They didn't just give little, old me coffee for a month, but they gave 500 people (the first 500 people) free coffee. Better yet, it's not just some coupon you can use to get 500 free cups; they gave everyone a super-nice travel mug to fill again and again. It's probably the nicest grand-opening gesture since that time Quick Lube hosed down the first 25 people with motor oil.

When I first heard about the promotion, my brother and I made plans to attend. We figured that the store would be opening at 10am, so we could just go a few minutes early. But when we rolled up at 9:45 and saw people filing in and out, we hurried inside. The place was gorgeous in that "it's the same at every Panera's" way. They gave us our mugs, we bought some food, and it was good. Of course, hoards of people showed up at 10, when Panera's was supposed to open, but I can't say how many of them got the free coffee.

Now, I'm not the kind of guy who is going to go in there every day, get his free coffee, laugh, and walk out of the door. I realize this is a new business, and even though it's a chain, it deserves a chance as well. I've waited quite some time for a Panera's to come to the county, and I'm going to give them my business... while enjoying free coffee. This is the sort of promotion only a chain could pull off. And they are just another feather in my coffee-drinking cap.

I should get a coffee drinking cap.