• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, February 21, 2008

Marketing loves a vacuum. In the wake of Starbucks' announcement that it will close all of its 7,100 company-owned stores on Tuesday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in order to refocus more than 135,000 employees on its espresso standards, other coffee vendors are leaping to the fore.

Stew Leonard's, which roasts its 20 varieties of coffee in-house and brews more than 2,000 pounds of beans every day, on Wednesday said it will offer free cups of coffee, espresso and cappuccino while Starbucks is closed. Stew Leonard's is a family-owned and -operated fresh food store founded in 1969, with four stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn., and Yonkers, N.Y.

Stew Leonard Jr. said in a press release that he got the idea from Mike Perry, owner of Coffee Klatch Roasting in San Dimas, Calif., who was visiting Stew Leonard's stores. In a news release issued on Tuesday, that company said it would offer free coffee at its retail coffee shops in San Dimas and Rancho Cucamonga.

Even a Midwestern coffee shop is getting into the act.

Java Station Espresso Café in the Village of East Davenport, Iowa, will offer extended hours on Tuesday "to welcome all Starbucks customers who will find their local Starbucks closed."

"We usually close at 6 p.m. during the winter months--but realizing that Starbucks' specialty coffee and espresso customers will need a place to find their evening latte, cappuccino, and chai tea--we will stay open until 9 p.m.," said the owner in a press release.