The first challenge for Caribou will be overcoming its Minnesota-ness. Caribou's coffeehouses (in Minnesota) account for about half of the company's stores and sales, and those stores have consistently been more profitable than coffeehouses outside the state.

[ Caribou Coffee off to bitter start ]

Let me say, as far as I am concerned, Caribou is just plain better than Starbucks. Sure, I like the 'bucks, but Caribou's drinks are much more reasonably priced. Caribou also has better drip, especially decaf, since they don't burn their beans like the Starbucks House Blend.

Interestingly, Caribou ends up even being a company I could invest in, as I am a bit strict about my investments:

Besides improving operations, Coles has his hands full addressing the public relations problems related to the 60 percent stake in Caribou owned by Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank, which was formerly known as First Islamic Investment Bank.

Arcapita ... operates the business in accordance with a body of Islamic principles known as Shariah.

Sure, we don't have Peet's in the DC area, so the only two national chains I am aware of are Starbucks and Caribou, but generally I prefer to do the 'bou.