Starbucks vs. McDonald's

Did you know that there are more Starbucks stores than there are McDonald's stores? Yup. Starbucks has 40,000 while McDonald's has a close 36,000...competition heats up between the world's largest fast food giant and the world's largest coffee server. Starbucks recently added breakfast sandwiches to their menu in an effort to battle McDonald's fast growing breakfast portion. Food industry experts applaud the decision. Starbucks has the advantage that coffee is a major part of the breakfast decision. But will food work with the coffee giant? Most American's spend no more than three minutes shopping for breakfast, leaving no time for stops (Starbucks for coffee and McDonald's for food). McDonald's realized this obstacle and fought back by offering premium coffee (which tastes better than Starbucks' according to taste tests). McDonald's has the better hand-the company experienced an improvement in sales due to their gourmet coffee and McMuffin breakfast sandwiches. I think that Starbucks should slow down a bit, executives are probably bored with the basic coffee idea and want to add more selections. The company should stick to coffee but also expand its pastry line and offer fresh bread as an option (cafe style)... Panera Bread is a great example of a fast casual restaurant who manages to balance food and coffee. On the other hand, McDonald's should move a little up-scale... expand the McCafe stores. What do you think as a consumer? Would most of you buy your coffee from Starbucks and then purchase breakfast at McDonald's?