Red Rock
Red Rock has been around as long as Dana Street Roasting Company has, if not longer. I can remember hanging out there and doing homework there in high school, but Dana Street always was mine and my friends’ preferred cafe.
Red Rock is actually on the same block as Dana Street, just on the opposite corner.
They have a lot more going for them as far as catering, events and offerings, space rental, community engagement, and a much better, updated website.
I appreciate the style, typography and coloring of the site. Also I like how visual and full of images it is. There are just a couple navigation things I would change. For example, I think it’s confusing to have both a “Community” menu item and “Culture” menu item. I would think those things would be somewhat similar, or their sub menu items would be under the same main menu. Like “Calendar” could be under either of those menus if you ask me. They have it under “Culture”.
Starbucks
Obviously Starbucks will be a competitor, even though it is not a “local” cafe, or small business by any means, each location still offers several of the same products, features and atmosphere as any local cafe. They just lack an authenticity and uniqueness that local small cafes like Dana Street Roasting Company can offer.
Their website and app is unparalleled. They can give their customers a smooth and easy experience with mobile ordering, and offer a great rewards program. They have tons of merchandise, all available to order online, and each location has a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. They also all offer free wifi.
The Starbucks that is closest to Dana Street, happily is about 3 1/2 blocks away, and is not necessarily considered in the “heart” of downtown Mountain View. Dana Street is very centrally located.
1 oz Coffee
This cafe is newer and states that it is an “espresso bar” started by coffee addicts. It has a higher rating on Google than Dana Street. It is not located too close to Dana Street, but it’s actually pretty close to the Starbucks on Castro.
Their website seems to be half baked, however. There is a footer message at the bottom which is clearly still the template fill in wordage. Also the design isn’t very pleasing to see on a desktop. It’s a little better in the mobile version. But I don’t really like how the basic “bio” or boiler plate for the cafe follows you and heads every other page you go to in the site. However, it still has a little more to offer than Dana Street’s current website.
designs-by-day.com 