David vs. Goliath. Hercules vs. the Hydra. The multimillion dollar corporate conglomerate vs. a local coffee shop in downtown Carrollton. Gallery row is a local small town coffee shop keeping the culture of Carrollton alive. Starbucks is a cancerous soul sucking cookie cutter box that regurgitates the same basic drinks and food that are slowly killing our bodies.

Gallery Row serves coffee worth 2-7 dollars, fresh pastries made daily, good service that greets you with a smile, and shelter you can always go to in the cold or heat, and still be comfortable. Starbucks serves “coffee” worth 3-8 dollars, crappy microwaved food that is overpriced, inconsistent service from underpaid workers trying to make ends meet, and an uncomfortable environment that almost feels like the walls want you to leave.

When you sit and stay in a local coffee shop it immediately feels warm and cozy, the building almost welcomes you in to stay for a while, and the chatter from the people make you feel at home. When you sit and stay in a “Starbucks” it is cold and chilling, the building itself feels as if it’s trying to spit you out the front door, and the people give you stares, wondering why you even bother to stay.

All of this, simply put, is disgusting. From the clear unethical working conditions and pay, seen from the recent protests on Starbucks, down to the way they disgorge those same poisonous, wretched “meals” and “drinks”. The more we buy into these corporate gingerbread houses, the more they will ruin small towns like these, the more they will kill the future generations with their reheated meals and chemically loaded “pink drinks”, and the more they rip away the American Dream right out from under our feet. If you are reading this please go to your local coffee shop and just stay for a while, because you never realize how much slowing down and changing your habits can change your life.