Before Starbucks pours into historic downtown Marietta, neighbors insisted on a make-over. After two years of negotiations, a site plan was finally approved. Now a cluster of independent coffee houses said ‘May the best brew win.’

The brewing discussion at Cool Beans hasn’t been regular vs. decaf — it has been about a nearby piece of land.

After two years of neighborhood negotiations, two rejected plans, the Marietta City Council just voted to allow a Starbucks coffee house on the edge of the historic Marietta district.

McWhirter Realty, who owns the land, said this is the compromise pushed by neighbors. The location is set to open at the end of the month.

It means the coffee competition just went up a notch. Already, Cool Beans, across the square, another coffee café, a third down the street, a fourth near the new Starbucks.

Small coffee brewers said they cannot compete on a corporate level with shops like Starbucks, but insist that can, and will, compete on a cup by cup basis.

Those smaller coffee houses are quickly becoming outnumbered. Starbucks has opened 560 new stores since the beginning of 2007.