Planned Starbucks site in Cork is creating a Love/Hate relationship between the chain and city

Plans to locate a Starbucks to a much loved listed building in Cork has provoked outrage in some quarters. Ed Power looks at yet another US behemoth that is loved and loathed.

Few corporate symbols evoke fear and loathing as viscerally as Starbucks’ double-tailed mermaid.

From obscure origins in mid-70s Seattle, the company has become a global behemoth, with over 21,000 outlets across 64 countries and a roll-call of critics ranging from coffee elitists to anti-capitalists.