Following on from the actions of a number of independent cafés in Dublin last week, several coffee shops in Cork yesterday (12 September) decided to hand out free beverages in protest against the proliferation of Starbucks outlets.
Rebecca Harte of Cork city's Farmgate café spearheaded the event, according The Irish Times, after the demonstration in Dublin, which saw a collective of cafés offering customers free coffee to protest the opening of a new Starbucks on the capital's Crampton Quay, "struck a chord" with her.
Harte asserted: "It was nice to respond to the cafés in Dublin doing it. We have three Starbucks cafés in the space of about three-minutes walking distance in the city. It gives the opportunity to refocus on small, independent businesses and cafés."
Other local establishments that participated in the protest included the Electric bar & restaurant on Cork's South Mall and The Rocket Man salad & juice bar on Princes Street.
