You’ve bean had – the new Starbucks stealth store
By Paul Smith
At first glance it looks like some uber-cool indie coffee house, tucked away on the street front without any glaring bells and whistles. No menus or signage or bright neon lights to attract the mentally incapacitated through the door. The sort of place you hang out in because it doesn’t draw the crowds:
There’s live music, wine and beer available over the counter, espressos made manually. Yep, no doubt about it, it’s everything an independent coffee house should be, a welcome retreat from the soulless glass boxes operated by cold corporations like Starbucks. Oh, hang on a minute:
It’s not inspired by Starbucks at all, it is bloody Starbucks – after seeing profits tumble, they’re experimenting with coffee shops that abandon the brand name altogether, in favour of a community environment that consumers still care about. The first is in the Starbuck heartland of Seattle, where they’ve been upsetting other independent owners by sending teams of staff into their shops to snoop on how they work.
Another two are due to open in Seattle shortly. If they’re successful, expect these Starbucks stealth stores to arrive in your city soon. And no, you still won’t see much change out of a fiver for a coffee and piece of fucking lemon drizzle cake.
[PSFK]
feral trolley of the week
And If you call it an expresso, I’ll smash you in the fucking face, you BMW/Audi driving TWAT!
Lol thanks for the warning. They’ll be in the UK soon enough… Grr…
incapicated …. isn’t that incapacitated
Yes it is. Sorry, I was mentally incapicated.
as much as i despise the generic brand names taking over the high street, i am a fan of Starbucks….wait…dont shoot me. Their system ensures a standardisation of quality, i can order my same drink all over the world, that’s got to help cross any language barrier. Tesco’s on the other hand, they are the dangerous brand, at least Starbucks don’t sell life insurance or squeeze every penny out of their suppliers? or am i being naive….??
Posted by Gareth Hutchinson
” … or am i being naive….??”
Yes, Gareth, you are. But I find that very attractive. Which is more than can be said for the McDonalds of coffee houses.
I agree with Gareth.
I don’t much like ‘coffee’ but I have arrived at a combination that I like and can get in every Starbucks and it’s always the same. No Ugh! surprises.
Why do I go to a coffee shop if I don’t like coffee? Because it provides somewhere to go and think or read that’s not my office.
looks alright to me?!
Why is the cafe being propped up on lumps of concrete?
Because the concrete props the bench up, which inturn props the shop up?
[...] Unfortunately, the results have been less than satisfactory and now Starbucks is grasping at even more outlandish ideas when perhaps they should be more focused on their core [...]
Recently, British Royal Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees, and to request that they send some of it to the troops there
Starbucks replied, telling the Royal Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee.
Also, please don’t forget that when the Twin Trade Towers were hit, the fire fighters and rescue workers went to Starbucks because it was close by for water for the survivors and workers, and Starbucks CHARGED THEM!!!
AN ADDED NOTE TO THIS: STARBUCKS HAD STORES ON SEVERAL MILITARY BASES IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE NOW BEING REMOVED BECAUSE OF THIS.
…oh did i forget to mention there coffee sucs a**
The water thing is true, but the Marines story is false – see http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp
As long as I can order a “large” instead of a “vento”, I don’t care who frikkin’ owns it.
Oh, and @barjoysee, don’t forget to also spread the story of how Starbucks saves the pitchers of customers coffee pour-offs and mixes it in with the coffee they send to police and military bases. It’s complete bs, but since you like spreading that kind of story, the fact that I pulled it out of my butt shouldn’t slow you down at all.