This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Alexandrea Ciardella. Find her on Instagram at @a6ysma1. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Starbucks can be found everywhere nowadays. In bookstores, supermarkets, on college campuses, most cities have one on every street or just around the corner. They seem to have a chokehold on the coffee market—I’m not a big coffee fan, but even I have been buying drinks at Starbucks more frequently in the last few years (though to be fair, it was the only cafe on my college’s campus that was open the majority of the week). Coffee shops have become such a big part of our everyday lives — not just as customers, but also as workplaces. If you’ve ever considered joining the industry, explore hospitality career opportunities near you and discover where you might fit in. But recently, I’ve come to realize how expensive Starbucks is and how busy they’ve become. I’ve been looking for alternative cafes to get my “fancy drink fix” that may be cheaper and have overall better quality. Here’s a list of the best chain coffee shops that you should try if you’re tired of Starbucks.
Tim Hortons
Arguably the most famous on the list, Tim Hortons is a Canadian-based coffee shop, with nearly 5,700 locations worldwide. This coffeehouse serves a small variety of hot and iced coffees, as well as a selection of other hot and cold beverages. Even though their drink selection is not as customizable as Starbucks’ menu, Tim Hortons has a wider variety of food options, including a selection of donuts and “timbits”, multiple combinations of breakfast sandwiches, bagels, baked goods, and lunch sandwiches. Many of their American locations are located close to the American-Canadian border, but they have since expanded further into the country.
Dutch Bros Coffee
When it comes to drink quantity, Dutch Bros Coffee has Starbucks beat. Between lemonades, protein coffees, shakes, sodas, iced teas, smoothies, and more, this coffee shop has a variety of drink options to choose from. If you’re not into coffee, Dutch Bros is a good alternative to choose.
Peet’s Coffee
Even if you’ve never been to Peet’s Coffee in person, you’ve likely seen their coffee beans on display in other coffeehouses. That’s because before they opened physical locations, Peet’s Coffee supplied coffee beans for commercial use- meaning that they did not make any drinks in-house. Now, they have locations open across the country, with a drink and food menu very similar to Starbucks’ own, including teas and small bites along with coffee. Starbucks’ owners even had their beginnings at Peet’s, learning from the owner Alfred Peet, meaning that Peet’s is as close as you can get to Starbucks without it being Starbucks!
Dunkin
Now, I know that Dunkin Donuts is a huge chain in the U.S., much larger than the others I’ve mentioned above. But I did say that I was listing alternatives to Starbucks, so here we are! Jokes aside, Dunkin Donuts is a bit cheaper than Starbucks but still has roughly the same amount of drink options. They also have a similar amount of food items, though Dunkin has an advantage with the variety of donuts. (Also, Dunkin’s hot chocolate is much better than Starbucks.)
What do you think the best chain coffee shops are? Leave a comment down below!
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