Three years ago, Starbucks Coffee opened a store in the Garage; soon after, it opened a second location on Church Street.

Starbucks stores are held to uniform pricing, so customers won't find the same discrepancy in the cost of a cup of coffee here that they could at Dunkin' Donuts.

They will, however, find at each Starbucks a different environment and a different set of coffee drinkers.

Students studying for exams often hole up at JFK Street, while Church Street tends to attract more teaching fellows.

"Within Harvard Square, there are still different neighborhoods and pockets," Starbucks' New England regional marketing manager Donna Peterson explains.

"The Church Street store tends to be more of a commuter store," Peterson says, "while the JFK Street one is more of a respite."

The JFK Street location provides a variety of tables, counter seats and plush armchairs, as well as a shelf full of books for patrons to browse through.

The Church Street store, on the other hand, has just tables.

"What we really enjoy doing is picking up on the local flavor," Peterson says.

For example, the red brick so prevalent in Harvard Square has been left exposed at the Church Street store. And the Garage store sponsored a mural contest for local artists, challenging them to "Capture the Spirit of Harvard Square." The winning mural will hang in the store, and is slated for unveiling in June.

Peterson says plans for "capturing the spirit" also include inviting local musicians to play live in the JFK Street store--another hallmark of Harvard Square.

But why does the Square need two Starbucks so close to one another?

"It's based on walking patterns," Peterson explains. "It's a business of convenience, and we wanted to be as convenient to our customers as possible."

An Addition to the Family

For Bob Slate Stationers, the decision to open a second location in Harvard Square had little to do with different customer bases or convenience, though those factors did help the second location thrive.