A Tripio back in time with Kevin Knox and Howard Behar

“There must be a game at Wrigley tonight. It is Monday and there are more people around than usual. Looks like they plan on having some fun. I love living here, walking these streets and making them mine. I am beginning to realize that my job at Cosmodemonic * gives me something of an edge on everyone else. It is becoming a place to be. A new place. One that gives me a bit of notoriety over all these people on these sidewalks who have lived here way longer than I have. They are not a part of this growing thing that is the Cosmodemonic.” –from Tripio

_{* In Tripio, Jay calls Starbucks the Cosmodemonic Coffee Company}.

Question for Kevin Knox–I never saw Starbucks as a global entity while I was there. I thought maybe coast to coast in larger cities. Did you foresee it? And, did you get the sense Howard saw Starbucks as it is now, back in the early90s.

A– I think Howard’s vision for Starbucks was that vast from the outset. But in the early 90’s it was all about laying the foundation. Dave Olsen: “we’ve gotten very good at making one product: coffee. We need to become equally good at making another: stores.”