On October 7, 2017, Starbucks opened an adorable new drive-thru only store in South Gate. (South Gate is in the greater Los Angeles area.)

It’s super cute! It’s looks like a fairly unique design with partially steel panels and partially a concrete or permanent structure. It’s not a “shipping container” store but similar to it. At one point in 2015, I published an article with a listing of every true “shipping container” Starbucks and those that were prefab construction design also. Also, if you’re visiting Southern California, I have a list here of some of my favorite must-see destination Starbucks in Southern California.

Here’s the cute new South Gate Starbucks:

Starbucks
Firestone & Hildreth
4704 Firestone Blvd.
South Gate, California 98020
323 513 6700

By the way, there’s another Starbucks which has a design similar to this one: It’s the Tustin and Chapman Starbucks in Orange, California.

Starbucks has announced that there would be store closures of about 150 under-performing stores. It seems as the focus in new stores heavily emphasis drive through locations versus cafe only stores. Another new drive through location opened in Anaheim last October. With store closures, and new stores often being drive through locations, it makes me wonder if we will see many more of the Reserve Bar type of locations, which offer Reserve coffee and elevated brew methods? In March 2018, Starbucks opened a beautiful new Reserve Bar at Sunset and Mohawk in Los Angeles. The Hillhurst and Avocado Starbucks in Los Angeles is also a lovely Reserve Bar. (There are Reserve Bars all over the country. I mention the LA stores largely because Southern California is the only place that I frequently travel to.) I have more questions than answers! Do you think we’ll see many more of these cute little drive through stores?