My Ballard

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Starbucks buys Ballard coffee company

March 19th, 2008 · 5 Comments

A few days ago, we posted a blurb about the Clover, an expensive single-cup coffee maker manufactured in Ballard that’s getting raves all over the country. Well, now there’s word that Starbucks is buying the company. “We’re ecstatic,” said 36-year-old Zander Nosler, the co-founder of Ballard’s The Coffee Equipment Company. “Every store manager wants one,” said Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in an announcement. Schultz says the plan is to distribute the Clover to most of Starbuck’s cafes. Wow!

Tags: Ballard

5 responses so far ↓

  • 1 John Eddy // Mar 19, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    So, it was funny. On the way home, when the story of this came up on KUOW as, effectively, ‘A Clover in Every Store!’, I turned and looked at the wife: ‘Holy shit, that’s 11k a store! You’d think it’d have been cheaper to just buy the company.’

    Then, we get home, I read the news to see that, in fact, they did buy the company.

  • 2 Fellow Ballardite // Mar 20, 2008 at 5:20 am

    So what’s going to happen to the non-chain cafes, like new Aster Coffelounge, that use the Clover?

    I’m sure their machines are grandfathered, i.e. they don’t need to turn them over or anything.

    But does this mean that when they need a machine serviced, or need it replaced, they will be buying a machine with the Starbucks logo?

    Too bad for Aster et al, if so.

  • 3 Len // Mar 20, 2008 at 7:27 am

    Bet its not long before there is another manufacturer of high-end single cup coffee makers. Thats the bones of a market economy.

  • 4 Ben // Mar 20, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    If they bought the machines then obviously they don’t need to turn them over, they own them. If they are rented or leased then they might have to give them up, but I doubt it.

  • 5 Mark // Mar 20, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    any idea how much they bought them for? Everyone in that company just got their kids’ college education squared away + more. Good for them.

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