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July 7, 2008

Starbucks and the Restroom Anti-Bubble

The Starbucks boom across the U.S. (and worldwide) has added hugely to the list of public restrooms. With cities building fewer of the things, and even closing some, and with many restaurants making it only slightly less difficult finding them than finding your average absentee hedge fund manager, Starbucks' buildout has been a boon to joggers, tourists, businesspeople and anyone who sometimes, you know, just has to go.

But as a friend reminded me over the weekend, there is newly a problem. With the announcement that 600 Starbucks are being closed across the U.S., that works out to somewhere between 600 and 1,200 public restrooms being taken out of circulation, so to speak. As opposed to the earlier buildout bubble, we now have a restroom anti-bubble.

What will it mean? Will people be more reluctant to leave the house? Will they consume less fluid when outside, thus leading to more dehydration? These are important questions.

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