I was impressed when I heard that someone managed to visit every Starbucks store in Manhattan in one day. There were 171 at the time. Then I learned about Winter, who takes Starbucks-visiting to a whole new level, aiming to visit every Starbucks in the world (9,000 to date.) Not in a single day, or even in a single year, but still an ambitious goal that attracts some media attention.

A decline in the company’s fortunes has made his project more difficult. Winter struggles to visit stores slated for closing before they’re gone like a bowl of oatmeal placed before Captain Duvel Moneycat.*

The Wall Street Journal profiled Winter and his quest earlier this week.

Winter says he spends about 25% of his earnings, and three months of travel a year, on coffee runs. He declines to say how much he makes but says it would be “six figures” if he worked all year. Though whim and cheap flights have long directed his travel, now he says he plots his trips to hit the most shops. “The thought of the one store I skip being the one that closes is a bit unbearable,” he says.

Starbucks is trying to slow the pace of store closings, and leverage the bad economy and real estate market into rent reductions of up to 25%.

Starbucks Everywhere
A Fan Hits a Roadblock on Drive to See Every Starbucks [Wall Street Journal] (via Table Hopping)
Starbucks Pushing Landlords for 25% Cut in Cafe Rents [Bloomberg]

(Photo: louisabate)

* – If you’re a new reader and/or don’t get the reference, click here to meet Mr. Moneycat.