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Courtney Menzies has this story.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"When I was told that Sbarro was coming to Belize City, I was like whoa. Now we need to see the Starbucks, we need to see - you're a coffee guy right? We need to see more of these franchises because people identify with branding."

"You have to give people some rum in terms of what you charge, importation and that sort of thing."

It's been one week since those comments were made by Mayor Bernard Wagner, and while Starbucks hasn't called to set up shop just yet, locally owned cafes continue to curate the coffee culture in Belize.

But these coffee shop - small but numerous - haven't been given any "runs" though they do import some of their supplies. So it was a little strange when they heard the mayor advocating for a foreign franchise.

Einar Marin, Owner, Bleu By Einar Marin
"I'm all for the diversity, the hype it brings along, the opportunities. Belize City doesn't have a lot of stuff to offer so I think stuff like that is good for the city. But I think maybe the mayor misspoke when he referred to the tax exemptions, and every good politician makes errors, we're human beings. What I don't agree is that if these large franchises, they have tax exemption, or a "lee run" as the man said, you're giving these franchises to run a three mile race while we local businesses have to run a 26 mile marathon."

Eros Dawson, Owner, BakeD Coffeehouse
"I thought that it's kind of - there's pros and cons. It's a positive thing to invite new businesses because it brings in revenue. At the same time I would say that we kinda want to extend the same benefits to our local businesses as well and I think there's some available but it's kind of far and few."

For the proprietors of Bleu and BakeD - two popular coffee shops in Belize City - it's a lot more than just serving coffee. They've created an experience that can only be found at smaller businesses.

Einar Marin, Owner, Bleu By Einar Marin
"Here at Bleu, we offer much more than just coffee. We do fresh breads, pastries, sandwiches, desserts, breakfast options. In terms of work, I have around 20 staff under me and we have guys who are working from 5:30 in the morning to the evening, we have guys coming in the afternoon to the night. We have the girls here taking care of the storefront from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening so it's a lot of work, it's a lot of passion and stuff that we love to do for our clients, that's what we want to do. It's a lot of hard work and I think the products that we offer is up to par, not only on a national level, but worldwide."

Eros Dawson, Owner, BakeD Coffeehouse
"I have always been passionate about having high quality food and coffee and for my own consumption, for my own family, we've always appreciated the kind of hole in the wall type of businesses, smaller businesses whether it's international or local that produce high quality items and that's what I've always been interested in and passionate about so it's quite a process in terms of getting the coffee to where it is from bean to cup and we take a lot of pride from sourcing the coffee to roasting our coffee to the minimal storage we have, storage time, so that it's a small batch and it's fresh."

And Belizean coffee lovers appreciate the time and effort put into every cup. One coffee connoisseur - who curates her own cups as a hobby - says it's the personalized attention that really makes the experience.

Courtney Menzies:
"How important is that first cup of coffee to start off your day?"

Michelle Flores Sampson, Coffee Drinker, 15 Years
"Oh it's very important, for a coffee lover, it's very important. Getting a nice strong cup of coffee in the morning just fuels you."

Courtney Menzies:
"And do you visit these coffee shops a lot?"

Michelle Flores Sampson, Coffee Drinker, 15 Years
"Yes. Just recently I was in San Ignacio and I had an awesome experience at The Daily Brew. They made a nice cappuccino for me. I don't really do sugar in my coffee so the guy gave me a pumpkin spice syrup in my coffee, it just enhanced the flavor. I visit a lot. Like Brew, you have Bricks and Books right here in Belize, Bleu. So many. Why bring another?"

And while Starbucks may have more flavor options and a wider reach, the local cafe owners say they're missing the passion and the artistry.

Einar Marin, Owner, Bleu By Einar Marin
"Touching on what they mayor said also, these franchises, they have a brand, but why can't we create a local Belizean brand, a truly Belizean brand? Here at Bleu, I believe, for the past 3 or 4 years we've been working, we've created a brand, our cups, our boxes, people identify our logo with an experience, not just a piece of cake or a bread or a coffee, something that you would want to gift somebody for their birthday, graduation, stuff like that. So branding is important and I think we're hitting the nail there."

"I think franchises, they have their upper hand money wise, but at the end of the day they're commercial so they just press one button, two buttons, and you get your coffee. Us here in Belize, we do stuff with love. And that's something I work with my staff, whatever you do, you have to do it with love, like if you were giving it to your mom. I don't think those franchises really care who's getting the coffee."

Eros Dawson, Owner, BakeD Coffeehouse
"I think there's always an initial effect of that sort of thing, whether it's any new business, the franchises I think would garner a sort of rush in the beginning. I would say yes that our population is not quite ready for it but it's a good test, like we can see more or less if it's something that can work or if it's not going to work. At the same time we will still be here providing quality products and services and it also helps us to keep our local businesses in check so we can meet and exceed those types of businesses and business models that come to our country."

But Bleu, BakeD and the other coffee shops don't have to worry - they have the support of the local coffee lovers.

Michelle Flores Sampson, Coffee Drinker, 15 Years
"It's nice to just go in, sit down, have a nice cup of coffee, you take your friends. I would say I kinda felt ashamed for him saying that but like I said, to each his own, everybody has their own opinion, but I think we should buy more Belizean because we do have a lot of wonderful coffee shops in Belize."

And if all that doesn't cinch the argument, a price comparison likely will. A single cup of a fancy frappe at any of these establishments will be no more than 15 Belizean dollars, but at Starbucks, you can expect to pay 8-12 US dollars for that same drink.