Along those lines. Business wars can be so nasty.

One of the local coffee shops has bumped against Starbucks.

Here's my take on what's happening.

The local guy is located in a nearby shopping center.

There is a new shopping center being built about 2mi away. Right next to an interchange on I-5. (Centeral California) The local guy started to negotiate for a second shop there. S$ wanted the same. The local guy, at his current location has a no compete clause in his lease. No other coffee shops in the shopping center. S$ found a way around it. They offered to buy the shopping center's remaining unbuilt location outright.

To me S$ movement on the local guy seems to be in way of a warning shot. I've no doubt they have made a serious offer to buy into the local shopping center, but I suspect it's contengent on a request that's been made to the local planning dept. S$ wants to close one of the entries to the center as part of a plan to install a drive thru. I don't see how that will ever happen, so it gives them an easy out on the purchase agreement. Even so they could still build without the drive thru.

To me it seems they have the guy boxed. If he persues the new store, they move in on his current location.