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I am only 56 but coffee wasn’t in chains before Starbucks. Dunkin was for donuts, the coffee was a side. Other than that, you got it at the gas station or the diner, but mostly you made it at home.
There wasn’t one per se. You got coffee at the donut shop (Winchell’s or Yum Yum in Southern California) or the 7-11 or the AM/PM at the Arco gas station. If you wanted to sit and chat, you got it at a chain diner like Denny’s. Denny’s actually had good coffee.
There was a local coffee shop I frequented as a teen that was amazing. Plenty of comfy seating and they were open until midnight or 1 am, depending on the day of the week. It was the best!
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Woolworth in LA.
You could get coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I don’t recall any actual coffee chains.
There wasn’t one that I remember. Coffee culture wasn’t a thing.
I am only 56 but coffee wasn’t in chains before Starbucks. Dunkin was for donuts, the coffee was a side. Other than that, you got it at the gas station or the diner, but mostly you made it at home.
Stanley Thermos FTW.
7-11
There wasn’t one per se. You got coffee at the donut shop (Winchell’s or Yum Yum in Southern California) or the 7-11 or the AM/PM at the Arco gas station. If you wanted to sit and chat, you got it at a chain diner like Denny’s. Denny’s actually had good coffee.
There were no coffee chains before Starbucks. Most cups of coffee could be obtained at gas stations or fast food restaurants for 60 cents to a dollar.
Caribou. If you know, you know.
dunkin
Dunkin Donuts. People were not obsessed with coffee nor did we ever hear of latte or iced coffee as you do today.
Chock Full O Nuts stores were all over NY & NJ.
The college Student Union. Self serve coffee in little styrofoam cups dispensed fr a large brew kettle. 10¢.
7-11. Hell I’ll still grab a cup if I’m on the road
Folgers and Maxwell House. Same as today.
Gas station, diner, 7-11, McDonald’s
Chock full of nuts.
The kitchen.
In London, UK, there were no chains until the 90s. For coffee your options were either cafes without the accent or local sandwich shops..
You had the option of tea or coffee. Fancy places would do black coffee. It coffee with no milk.
That was it.
Nothing before Starbucks, aka the good old days.
There were no coffee chains!! LOLOL. Coffee was one of many drinks to order everywhere and nothing more (which it still is to me but I’ll old!).
Tim Hortons has been dominant Canada for many years, well before Starbucks was a thing.
Any NYC corner deli. Who cared what it tasted like, the question was did it wake you up?
That little orange and brown coffee pot in break rooms.
There was a local coffee shop I frequented as a teen that was amazing. Plenty of comfy seating and they were open until midnight or 1 am, depending on the day of the week. It was the best!
My moms percolator
As others have said, there wasn’t a coffee chain. You’d get your coffee at the local diner. Or donut shop.