Booker leads aggressive pitch to developers and chain retailers at shopping center convention.

The beans can be from the finest coffee estate. The roastmaster may be trained by the best. The equipment may be state-of-the-art. The inviting chairs and eclectic artwork may rival any urban living room. And yet none of this means a thing if there's one element of your new coffeehouse that's off--location.

In the restaurant business, as in retail and real estate, it's not only No. 1, but also No. 2 and No. 3 in the list of the leading indicators for success. We've all heard it before--location, location, location.

When Howard Schultz acquired Starbucks' assets in 1987, the company consisted of six retail and wholesale coffee shops in the Pacific Northwest. When Schultz gave up his position as CEO 13 years later to become chief global strategist, Starbucks cafés could be found all over Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East, as well as in over two thousand locations across North America.

Zoka is one of several specialty coffee roasters in Seattle that hold regular training sessions for their wholesale customers including espresso bars, restaurants, and bakeries on how to make a high-end espresso drinks.

Starbucks Corp. built its broad appeal on what Chairman Howard Schultz labeled an "experience," including baristas who know customers' orders by heart and an atmosphere that entices patrons to linger for hours. That experience has enabled the coffee chain to charge the premium prices that fuel its robust earnings growth.