Comments on: Store design and community: Just beautiful – Pier 55 & Bellevue Square Starbucks

By: bayareabux

bayareabux — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:36:10 +0000

Same exact mural exists at the Clover store in Miami Beach. Wonder if there are more replicas.

By: camspi

camspi — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:13:37 +0000

Cannot wait till these greener designs will be implemented across the country. (And they will! According to the starbucks news headlines on their website! LEED stores will be in Georgia, New York, Florida, California, and Michigan. Hopefully Texas will be added to that list soon.)

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:40:04 +0000

I love the new direction that Starbucks is taking with their store designs! Thanks again, Melody, for the thoughtful reviews and nice pictures.

By: PShouse

PShouse — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:21:59 +0000

These stores fully embrace the starbucks name and showcase the brand and breaks the cookie cutter starbucks sterotype. There was a story you tweeted about the failings of the “non” starbucks starbucks. These stores show that Starbucks can be itself and no other.

By: Crema_the_Crop

Crema_the_Crop — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:25:34 +0000

Also, a quick addendum–I forgot to throw in the fact that our “new” casework (cabinetry, cubbies etc.) for behind the bar actually IS coming from a store that was closed down earlier this year/late last year. So, just because elements aren’t “advertised” as being reclaimed or re-used doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t.

By: Crema_the_Crop

Crema_the_Crop — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:55:15 +0000

Wow, I’m impressed and encouraged that the new design strategies seem to be a company-wide initiative, and not just centered around ‘flagship’ stores. My store will be closing for a 10-year $200,000 remodel for three weeks coming up soon, and I’m excited that the results may be something similar to what these stores have ended up with.

Regarding the “waste” of old store components: I’m can’t speak for these locations, but I know from my current experience with my ten-year-old store that many of the materials that will be removed and gutted are simply worn out and not reusable in any sense of the word. The reclaimed materials used in many of the remodels are selected because they retain some degree of integrity or esthetic value when used for a new purpose. The pressboard and laminate on our cabinetry that is falling apart may not make such a great raw material for a new bar front or tabletop… Just my take on the issue.

By: LatteRose

LatteRose — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:07:06 +0000

The Bell Square siren design >is< quite stunning. I love the woodwork in the Pier 55 locale. Looks very warm & inviting.

Including a few pieces of local art on the walls would be a nice touch, though! I'm always for that!

By: Brendan206

Brendan206 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:02:14 +0000

I have got to check out the Pier 55 store later this week. These store renovations could be good for customers near the waterfront or Bellevue Square who might not normally visit a downtown Seattle Starbucks, but now they have an opportunity to experience the new design direction. It’s interesting that there has been less hype surrounding these latest redesigns. 1st & Pike and University Village were very prominent changes, but some redesigns since then (Pier 55, 6th & Pine, etc.) have been redesigned and I didn’t even notice. This design direction could become the new norm; I wouldn’t be surprised to see similar redesigns in some of Seattle’s residential areas in a year or two.

By: elly

elly — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:29:17 +0000

was the pier 55 store recently remodeled or rebuilt? i don’t remember anything down on the waterfront looking quite like that, even from the outside (but, i haven’t been down there in a while either…).

By: Melody

Melody — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:45:28 +0000

Hi Joe! That is a great point you bring up. I remember when I was writing the piece I was think about how the logs in Pier 55 store were locally sourced from the Pier, and how some of the wood in Bellevue Square came from a local home’s property in Magnolia (a Seattle neighborhood). It seems as if Starbucks is trying to tie new stores directly to their surroundings – their community.

But I often post on other sites about the parts of the Starbucks experience that cannot be measured: whether it is the 30 seconds at the register with exchanges in body language or the ‘feel’ of the store … these things are critical to the ongoing vitality and relevance of Starbucks.

It is my perception that these stores with their beautiful designs create partners more full of pride of the place that they’re working, and customers drawn back to them for their beauty. That overall creates a better Starbucks, yet it evades number-crunching.