Take a look inside Starbucks' new "undercover" store in Seattle

About Starbucks' new 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea store in Seattle: "Almost everything from the old store was gutted and recycled; so during this afternoon's preview [visitors] heard the words "repurposed" and "reimagined" with extreme frequency to describe the new decor and goals. ...If anything, it reads as "typical upscale cafe" rather than a Disney-fied version that one might have anticipated from a corporate overhaul." It officially opens on Friday. || See the photos || Read the Seattle Times' story

Comments

[Batista Ben]

Geez. A pour over? I want to transfer there. I bet you put some good coffee in those and it won't suck! I *wish* this was the norm. It'll never survive, it'll never work as a publicly traded company. :(

[BCshiftarista]

Wow! It looks really neat. I love the look, very natural. I notice they have the same tills though!

I've got to get down to Seattle some time soon...check it all out.

This picture is awesome: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshc/3750135903/sizes/l/in/set-72157621674139075/

I wonder if they take partner cards?? Haha.

[XFER]

Awesome I'm transferring NOW!!

[me myself and I]

It looks VERY nice and I would love going there as a customer right now. Let's see if they get a chance to survive by staffing properly to maintain that store the way it is. Because there seems to be no sight of streamlined processes. They will need a lot of labor to keep up with the expectations they are setting here.

Too bad they had to reuse the ancient tills with the worst touchscreens on earth. That doesn't really fit into the rest of the stores design.

Are they actually using Starbucks drink calling and cup marking in there? What about the names of the sizes? Are they going to be short, tall, grande and venti or small, medium, large and extra large?

[Karl Kenya]

I WANT my LaMarzoco back! *tear*

[suki]

***swoon*** That is a beautiful coffee house!

[SPORK]

In the words of Liz Lemon,

'I want to go to there'

[CamSpi]

Is the uniform that blue shirt with the skull? If so, that's awesome!
(Just playing around.)
I wonder if there is a uniform.
You first day visitors better dish the dirt! :D And Melody, have a beer for all of us at StarbucksGossip, won't you?! You too, green_cup!

[adoubleshotofclarity]

I've heard partner discounts and starbucks cards aren't being taken here.

Also heard 15th Ave prices will be slightly higher than Starbucks prices to offset increased labor.

Latte art! About time!!

[CoffeeMaster33]

'I want to go to there'

Seconded.

I'm glad Starbucks is trying something new. I'm also hoping that the barista's dress is going to be the norm once it's open for business. If that place survives without black and khaki, maybe regular retail Starbucks can too... Maybe even (gasp) a nose stud or flower tattooed on your wrist!

[adoubleshotofclarity]

I'm bummed about the beer selection. I'd hoped that they would offer locally brewed craft micros... Especially given the amazing selection of these in the Northwest. Instead, it looks like we get Stella Artois, some Redhooks (Blackhook, ESB, Slim Chance), Widmer Bros' Broken Halo IPA and Alaskan Amber. All bottled, too, no draft.

Wonder how long it will take for someone to complain that there isn't a light beer. Health & Wellness my ass.

[adoubleshotofclarity]

No Washington wines, either. Wasn't the point of this to get into a more local feel?

[Partner]

From what I read from articles, the barista dress code are "Street clothes"

[Herman M]

Really like the look. Reminds me of the first coffee roaster we went to when I was a kid in the old days. And many of the small shops I've worked for since. Doesn't look to good for that lawsuit...

Call me a curmudgeon, but latte art? What do I care what the top of the drink looks like when you serve it to me? My entire purpose in life at that point is to ruin the so called art by tipping the cup to my lips and drinking the beverage. My only criteria in judging the drink is whether or else I say "mmm". ;-)

[Melody]

I made here to 15th Ave Coffee and Tea this morning! (I am here now). This place is hopping!! I recognize one big exec but he doesn't know me so I haven't spoken with him. (He doesn't have time to mingle with customers).

I bought a pound of french roast for home (my bf's fave coffee) and it was just roasted on 7-19! What a beautiful store! Major Cohen is here running around smiling ear to ear.

The store has a twitter site to follow @15AveCoffee

http://twitter.com/15thAveCoffee

This is interesting - The largest size in the store is 16 ounces for espresso drinks!

I'll be back this afternoon! I can't stay too long. I have to get to work.

It smells so wonderful. I think I might cry.

[lattegal]

By the pictures it does look nice. But my question would be with all the repurposing materials that they used what did they do with the items that they were currently using? Seems silly to me to get rid of almost everything in the store to bring in stuff that was used prior. Starbucks is cutting jobs but as long as they are getting rid of perfectly good materials and reusing older stuff I guess that will put food on the table for those not working.

[Jim C]

When the lease is up on this place (3 years) it is gone.

[Richard]

Herman M,

I totally understand where you're coming from, but I think presentation is pretty important. I'm not really from the "it's all the same in here" school of thought. It shows that the person preparing your meal/beverage knows what they're doing.

If I go to a restaurant I want to see the food presented in an aesthetic manner, not throw onto my plate. A messy plate with food all over just does not look appetizing, same goes for coffee. A nice looking lattes just makes you want it MOAR!

[Melody]

Hi JimC - I realize we might be going 'round and 'round about this. You're saying the Starbucks will be in closed locations to run out leases. The 'gossip' I am hearing is that the next 2 sites are still be selected and that Starbucks will try another in the same Seattle neighborhood (Cap Hill).

Of course only time will tell, but if Starbucks were just running out leases, they wouldn't be looking for new sites in select neighborhoods. Of course, all I know is 'gossip' so I could be wrong.

As an aside, I know it's such a silly thing to be all weird/giddy about, but I believe I bought the very first pound of coffee at the new store:

http://twitpic.com/bhlgc

^ 1 pound French Roast sold at 6:29 am on 7/24/2009

[spence]

Melody, On a personal note, is this Starbucks near your office or home? I would be so happy for you if it was.

[Melody]

Oh Spence no unfortunately. Capital Hill is really not so much my main neighborhood. But I am going to make a point of coming back to this place often! Freshly roasted beans! It's just that realistically, this will be more of an occasional weekend Starbucks for me.

[BusyBean]

It's very interesting to what extent SBUX will go to fool its customers into thinking that this has nothing to do with SBUX the company. On its website at streetlevelcoffee.com, they have a contact email that uses GMAIL! :)
And WiFi is on the house! WOW!
And they have YUKON and 100% KONA! Why doesn't SBUX offer 100% KONA in the Northwest?

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP WEBMASTER]

BusyBean -- I also noted on the Open Thread that the Starbucks Twitter feed has made no mention of this store opening. Big news for Starbucks, and yet silence from its Twitter editor.

[PunkyBrewster]

I'd like to borrow that partner in the blue shirt.

[jeezlouise]

Uh, it looks like a Starbucks to me....they will be serving SB tea and coffee, what makes it different. Other than the La Marzocca?

[peaches]

I wonder who that blue shirted partner is. Fresh hire? 6 year Starbucks lifer, transferred in? Starbucks R&D? Just curious.

[Melody]

Peaches, the blue shirted partner has been with Starbucks at least 2 years. He worked for a long time in a downtown Seattle Clover store, where I literally saw him daily, Monday through Friday. He also has the patience of a saint. I kid you not! It took me a long long time to learn his name because that Clover store had 2 young men very similar in appearance, similar names, nearly the exact same hair!... I constantly mixed them up, and called them by the wrong names, and never did he become impatient or exasperated. The blue shirted barista has a band, and has played in Fremont before, but I don't remember what instrument he said he plays. He is a great barista. And today I asked him how he is liking having a manual machine, and his eyes smiled and he said, "it is SO much fun!"

[TheGreenApron]

The window of the concept store reads "inspired by Starbucks". Sounds a tad backward, if you ask me--akin to making Sylvia Plath the operator of a suicide prevention hotline.

Inside it looks more like a half-liquidated Pier One than a coffee shop, but on the upside, no blenders....

So, what can be learned from this experiment? If the store makes money then SBUX knows it may be able to stay in business as a specialty food supplier. If it doesn't make money, then Schultz and company know neither their brand nor their products have a future, and they can begin to sell off the company, ultimately returning the proceeds to its investors--that's what I call good to the last drop.

[Doug McArthur]

I've heard of this Broken Halo IPA but never tried it. I hope it's good, Broken Halo is my band's name!

http://www.halomusic.net

[coffee beans]

It looks a nice coffee shop. Has anyone been in? I'd be interested to know what it's like.