I’ve worked at a local coffee shop before and I currently work at Starbucks! Here’s my take: local coffee shops are nice and less stress as far as drinks go because it’s not like Starbucks where you can make like a million customizations. Honestly before applying for Starbucks, I really wanted to work at another small coffee shop but the ones in my area were kinda hard to get hired at because they were already “fully staffed.” The only stressful thing I’d say is lack of staffing. A lot of the times you’re only working with one or two other people and when rushes hit it’s pure chaos. I remember once I was all by myself and I had to ring people up, make drinks, and warm the food. Needless to say I got yelled at a few times for taking too long despite being the only person there. That’s the only downside I’d say there is to working at a local coffee shop. It also might not be super structured like Starbucks is with scheduling because most times it’s an independent business. What I like about Starbucks is that I don’t always have to worry about 50 different things at once. If I’m on bar then I’m on bar. If I’m on register then I’m on register, so on so forth. I remember when I first started working at Starbucks I was like “dang y’all are spoiled with how efficient things can be done.” This is however only my experience! I’m positive people have other opinions different from mine. Bottom line, I honestly wouldn’t mind working at either place. I like local coffee shops because I feel like you can truly perfect your craft as a barista, but local coffee shops are a way different ball game than Starbucks!