Desired Demographic

At 8 a.m. it's standing room only at the Los Altos Starbucks. The tables are crowded with talking, texting, and tweeting teens from the nearby Catholic high school. Their clothes and comportment, plus allowances that permit $4 morning beverages, betray their upper-middle-class status.

At other Starbucks locations that I've frequented the line consists of commuters looking for their morning fix and retirees intending to relax with a paper and coffee in comfy chairs. In Los Altos there are no seat cushions. Customers have to step gingerly over the backpacks strewn across the floor. Despite the discomfort to older customers, most businesses would kill for this demographic.