Last November, three bricks pounded through the storefront windows of the Starbucks on Craig Street in Oakland. On the building, below the gaping glass hole, someone had used stencils to spray paint “Starbucks is not welcome here” in bright red letters.

Thus began Craig Street’s coffeehouse war, pitting the new Starbucks store, which then was still under construction, against independent across-the-street rival Kiva Han.

It’s a rivalry that’s become more and more common as national retail chains put mom-and-pop independents out of business. There’s Wal-Mart vs. the local retailer, Home Depot vs. the local hardware store-and, in coffee, the ubiquitous Starbucks vs. any and all independent coffeehouses.

Founded in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks has grown to over 5,300 locations in the United States, with 18 stores in Pittsburgh alone. But, as the brick throwing underscores, its growth hasn’t come without incident. Starbucks has faced a backlash from consumer activist groups who accuse the company of predatory growth. These critics have accused Starbucks of using its financial resources and brand name to muscle independently owned coffee shops out of business.

But something different is happening on Craig Street. Starbucks does not seem to be winning its battle against Kiva Han. Due to a recent store expansion and dedicated patronage, the small shop has been able to hold its own against the coffee giant.

On a recent Sunday night in February, both Kiva Han and Starbucks are open for business. From Kiva Han’s second story balcony, the glowing green Starbucks sign across the street is at eye level, and any interested patron can see that the artists and hipsters that fill Kiva Han far outnumber the sleepy-eyed students in Starbucks.

Kiva Han has its share of sleepy-eyed students, too, with their heads buried deep in their hands, reading textbooks with titles like Immunology and pounding away on IBM Thinkpads, but their presence is lost in the busyness of the eccentric and colorful coffeehouse.

It’s almost 9 pm and Abigal O’Donnell, 20, an employee at Kiva Han, has been working since 3 pm. She’s been drinking coffee daily since she was 12 years old, so she knows how to stay awake, even when she has to work double shifts as she’s been doing lately.

Though it keeps her busy, she’s happy to see the seats full. Most of her customers are aware of the Starbucks rivalry. “A lot of people say they can’t believe Starbucks opened across the street.... [They say,] ‘we want to support you guys.’”

Customer support aside, Kiva Han’s owner, Ed Wethli, was understandably concerned last November when construction on Starbucks began. Fortunately, Wethli stumbled on some good luck when neighboring business History Trading Company closed its corner store. Both Kiva Han and History had an agreement for years that the coffeehouse could expand into History’s space when the store’s lease expired.

Kiva Han expanded its store right when Starbucks was opening across the street. For Kiva Han, it was perfect timing. The renovated coffee shop reopened on Thanksgiving weekend, right when Starbucks was opening. But something was wrong. By the time Christmas and New Year came, business in Kiva Han was dead.

Things looked bleak for the store over the winter holiday. Perhaps Starbucks had done exactly what some had feared it would do. All fears were alleviated, however, when the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University came back into session for the spring semester and business started booming. Since then, business has seemed to grow every week.

A female customer wearing a large orange puffy coat approaches the counter at Kiva Han to order some coffee from O’Donnell, whose dyed red hair compliments the large metallic ring adorning her left nostril. The woman makes a pfffff noise while contemplating what to order.

“Did you just make that noise?” says her boyfriend, noticeably surprised. O’Donnell interrupts, “I think it came out of her ass, actually.”

Everyone laughs.

It’s the kind of behavior you’d only find at a small independent coffeehouse, right? “Actually, I used to work for Starbucks in Oakland,” O’Donnell says. “I worked a few shifts downtown and in Squirrel Hill, and Craig Street.... Starbucks is too often portrayed as the Evil Empire.”

O’Donnell doesn’t harbor much of a grudge against her former employer, although she did develop a feeling that the management at Starbucks neglected their employees. “At Starbucks, you’re just a number. It’s about stupid rules rather than serving customers.”

Between the employees of the two coffee shops, there is very little evidence of a grudge. Perhaps that’s because next week they could find themselves working at their competitor. Gita Matson, 22, another Kiva Han employee, is used to seeing Starbucks employees come across the street to purchase cookies and pastries. Starbucks makes very few of their baked delicacies on site, and she’s served many hungry employees looking for freshly baked desserts.

It’s the patrons who ultimately come to define the coffeehouse, and the division among the customers at the two stores is clear. Starbucks is Banana Republic to Kiva Han’s Old Navy. Whereas in Kiva Han customers openly profess their dedication to the coffee shop, you’ll find a much more subdued allegiance at Starbucks.

Vicki Goode, 22, a library science major at the University of Pittsburgh, comes to Starbucks three or four times a week just for the coffee. She’s got text books sprawled out in front of her and is finding a chance to relax in the shop’s calm atmosphere while Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” plays quietly on the speakers.

Goode’s got a sound reason for going to Starbucks, one that most patrons share: she likes the coffee. “My parents own an independent business back at home. You’d think I’d want to go with the independent business over the chain, but I like Starbucks’s coffee the best. I guess there’s a reason why there’s [sic] so many Starbucks.”

But what about the bricks and the angst? What about the tension and the spray paint? Business for Kiva Han has not suffered yet, and with the recent increase in patronage the coffeehouse has experienced, the fear and uncertainty that were so prevalent when Starbucks first moved in have been diffused.

Starbucks seems comfortable with its role in the situation, too. All three bricks that were thrust violently through the shop’s windows back in November were kept and are now held in the employee break-room in the back of the store. Evidently, Starbucks employees maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing.