BEVERAGE DEPT. BRIEFING

The little space across from the Globe, across Church St. from the Border, which was once the home of Ben & Jerry's finest and thereafter inhabited by some daytime cafe, has been reincarnated as the third Starbucks in the Square.

The new sprouting is quite helpful to those students needy of a quick dose of caffeine to remain awake in section. But the coffee house's corporate mega-affiliation gives cause to ask whether we are being surrounded.

Starbucks No. 1--in The Garage. A hostile takeover of Coffee Connection. Windows foggy from the heat differential. Good cover for an invasion.

Starbucks No. 2--Broadway and Prescott. Home to Cambridge R & L kids and VES people on break. Blends in well--too well--with the neighboring Broadway Market. Good cover for an invasion.

Starbucks No. 3--The aforementioned Church St. site. Uncovered brick walls give it a neighborhood feel. Pouting intellectual in corner, young women mumbling about knitting in Austria, yuppies in the window. Good cover for an invasion.

So, take care, and be on the lookout for suspicious maneuverings. Send your citizen dispatches to the Beverage Dept., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge 02138.