Today (July 24, 2011), I dropped by a friendly Starbucks in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.  It was a hot Sunday in Seattle.  I was visiting with a friend who lives in that neighborhood, and we decided to walk down to Starbucks for afternoon iced drinks.  As I’ve mentioned before, I love highlighting the Clover Starbucks, so here is one more to talk about.

Here is the address:

Starbucks store #314
2135 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 301 – 9477

Though I almost never visit this store, I know the store manager, Miriam.  (I’m not sure if I am spelling that right.)  This store’s manager was previously an Assistant Store Manager at 7th and Pike Starbucks, so I got to know her there.  Unfortunately Miriam was not in when I dropped by – maybe next time.  She really is a great partner, and I’m sure she is an excellent manager.

This store first opened on April 29, 1989, in this very site where it still operates.  Store 314 is on the corner of Boston Street and Queen Anne Avenue in Seattle.  That four way intersection has businesses at every corner, and I can recall that at some point in the late 1990s early 2000 every corner was a coffeehouse.  For sure I remember that there was Peet’s Coffee (up until recently) at the site that is now “Homegrown” (a sandwich shop) located at 2201 Queen Anne Avenue.  And at one point there was a Tully’s at this intersection too.  So, once upon a time, the four way intersection of Boston and Queen Anne had a Peet’s, a Tully’s, and a Starbucks, all right across the street from each other.  I think there was an indy coffeehouse too at this intersection.  Today, only the Starbucks remains.  Peet’s and Tully’s are gone.

In November 2007, this store went through a minor interior remodel to accommodate the Clover brewer.  At that time the Clover was very new, and as far as I know, only the Queen Anne Starbucks, and the 6th & Union Starbucks downtown had Clovers in the entire company.  Essentially, this store is the earliest Clover store.  In late 2007, and early 2008, Starbucks was marketing the Clover coffee as “fresh pressed,” and hadn’t yet fully integrated the Clover branding into the stores.  I have an old blog article that talks about this very early Clover era, the Black and Tan beverage, and the early experience:

If Beans Could Speak – The Clover Coffee Experience and the tale of the Black and Tan.

This store underwent a dramatic major renovation last year, and it was complete June 27, 2010.  The store now features the latest Starbucks design elements including reclaimed wood, repurposed materials, and a warm and welcoming design.

One thing that I am glad about is that this store kept its fireplace!  That is such a nice touch in a store:

Since it was literally a hot summer day when I visited, the fireplace is not on in the above photograph.

I am also a fan of walls decorated with burlap coffee sacks.  It looks cozy to me, and I like seeing the sacks that the green coffee beans are shipped in:

Here are a few more photos of this pretty store.  You can see from the pictures below that it was an extremely bright and sunny day in Seattle on the 24th of July:

One thing that is important to know about this store is that it is always busy.  The above photos take on July 24, 2011, do not do it justice.  I decided that I would go back and try to get some better photos, hopefully when the store is slow.  This is easier said than done!

On August 23, 2011, I visited the store late in the evening.  I had a delightful time as I ran into a friendly face there (another attorney) and I chatted with him until the store closed.  The two partners working (Lauren and Andrew ?) also were totally nice, and I had a perfect Sumatra Tapanuli from the Clover.

I hope that between the two sets of pictures, you get a sense of what this store looks like.  Unfortunately, since it was 10:00 p.m. when I took the second set of pictures, the store is a little dark:

Last but not least, for those who don’t know, I am slowly trying to write articles and store reviews about as many Clover Starbucks as possible.  I have my own list of Clover stores, which is not complete:

^ That list might be missing as many as 75 stores.  One thing though, as I visit Clover stores and write reviews about them, I’m adding links in to that old blog post.  You can click through and easily find old Clover Starbucks store reviews.

I hope you enjoyed this store review!  If you ever get a chance to visit this Starbucks, it is a must see.  Very pretty store with friendly partners in it.

(I hope it is obvious that this article is a composite of two visits to the store, once in July, and once on August 23, 2011.)

Enjoy!