Report: The hot breakfast sandwiches are staying. (Could we have a confirmation please?)

According to Starbucks Gossip commenters, the sandwiches aren't going away. Here's what's been posted:
* "Starbucks decided to not cancel the breakfast sandwiches and is going to start them in the Rocky Mountain Region on Sept. 12."
* "Sandwiches are coming back because Howie cant just break a contract that the prev CEO decided to sign with the sandwich people."
* "Howard mentioned in that Portfolio interview that he had second thoughts about it after finding out much money they made. Given the state of the company, I'm sure he feels some sort of pressure to keep money flowing in."
I have e-mailed Deb Trevino from Starbucks PR to get a definitive answer on the sandwiches. I'll post her response if it comes in.
What are you hearing about the hot sandwiches?

Comments

[Westcoast Barista]

I heard through a reliable inside source that the ingredient mixture of the sandwiches have changed enough that it will significantly cut down on the acidic "vinegary" smell that was the point of such contention.

Ex. Less cheddar and havarti cheese, less herb spread on the Florentine, less butter in the egg mixture, etc.

Personally, I couldn't even notice any difference, as compared to the visibility smaller lunch sandwiches Sbux is now offering.

Plain and simple, as much as Howard personally despises the breakfast sandwich, the revenue hit the company (and likely, he himself) would take can't be afforded in these increasingly lean times.

Money talks, bullsh*t walks...

[poodle]

Warming is only staying for the Canadian market.

[Trent]

I can confirm the 1st posters comment that states that the breakfast sandwiches have been reformulated to decrease the grease smell in the stores.

Instead of using sharp cheddar, they are using mild.
Instead of using 2 thin slices of cheddar, they are using 1 thick one. The reason being (and I know every warming store partner can relate with me on this) is that the thin slices were very prone to breaking off into smaller pieces, so the cheese would burn on the parchment paper and thus release that burning grease smell into the stores.

They are also lowering the butter content.

ALL of this is confirmed by an action item that was posted to the store portal about 2 weeks ago.

However, nothing official has been sent to the stores about keeping warming for obvious reasons. But there are certainly a lot of whispers about it.

[Barry]

It would be great if they kept the sandwiches, the sausage egg and cheese is great. The price is very affordable. And common guys, lets not lie to ourselves, only half the stores have warming and the other half smell like homeless people not coffee. I beg anyone to disagree

[jewels]

i've heard rumors about replacing them with other items such as oatmeal and a hard-boiled egg "protein pack". oatmeal?? anyone know anything about this?

[FLA SM]

I can vouch for the oatmeal coming. Our DM told us (as much as possible without making any actual commitments) that we will be serving oatmeal starting Q1 in October. It makes sense for "remote" stores who don't have warming. It's pretty easy to add hot water to a bowl of oatmeal, and depending on what else is in it, it's a healthy alternative to the pastry case. I would much rather have instant oatmeal than stinky breakfast sandwiches and a space-consuming oven. I cannot, however, verify whether this will be a nation-wide or regional offering.

[Transatlantic]

So if our store doesn't get have sandwiches yet, we still aren't going to get them are we? I assume they are just planning on sitting out the rest of the contract, and then killing sandwiches once and for all.

And oatmeal? Seriously?

[Danielsedai]

My SM told us the Regional Manager confirmed we were going to be getting pastry warming? I'm not sure if this includes hot sandwiches and all, but it certainly seems that's next? Oh, we're in Lakeland, Florida.

[Westcoast Barista]

FLA SM:

"It's pretty easy to add hot water to a bowl of oatmeal, and depending on what else is in it, it's a healthy alternative to the pastry case. I would much rather have instant oatmeal than stinky breakfast sandwiches and a space-consuming oven."

Just try recommending a bowl of oatmeal to D/T commuters in the morning and see how well that goes over! The oatmeal idea could possibly be the dumbest idea I've heard yet. But that goes with the general theme of demonizing the breakfast sandwich and basing all further company decisions on pure emotion rather than sound business advice.

[Crema the crop]

Why is oatmeal such a bad idea? Many coffeehouses (including the one I'm currently sitting in--and no, it's not a SBux...GASP!) offer simple items for their breakfast crowd--breads/muffins, oatmeal, granola, cereals. Simple, easy, good for you, and hopefully, tasty.

[belle]

I hear the oatmeal is being made in some sort of thermos contraption. Apparently they're going to have 3 different flavors as well.

[SoCalRocks!]

Oatmeal is coming, again, from direct customer requests and feedback on mystarbucksidea.com...

seems like mystarbucksidea.com is shooting us in the foot lately with some wacky ideas...although the Vivanno's were requested, and now they're doing ok/well, so who knows...

[Ken]

Oatmeal? Wow, that is a the great plan to bring Starbucks back? How about dry toast as well? Oatmeal, you have to be kidding me. Does anyone under the age of 65 still eat oatmeal?

[melissa]

I just got an email about the oatmeal. The 3 toppings will be dried fruit, nuts or brown sugar. My openers are not going to like this.