Store Reviews

A brand new Starbucks in downtown Seattle opens today

by Melody on February 3, 2012

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Today (February 3, 2012)  marks the grand opening of a brand new Starbucks in downtown Seattle.   Interestingly, it has a fish tank !  It appears that the fish tank is actually part of a shared wall with the adjacent business, but it certainly is visible from the Starbucks, so you’ll be able to have your coffee and watch the fish if you want.

I walked by the store on January 29, 2012, and took a few photos of the store still under construction.  Please note, these photos were taken through windows which were mostly covered, and so the photos came out a bit blurry.

So here are the photos from January 29, 2012:

 

This store doesn’t have a Clover brewer yet, but there is definitely ample space for it, and I am hoping that it will add one.  I think the store manager, Tiana, is fighting for one!  This store is located in a LEED Gold Certified business building, and the building owners maintain the fishtank that can be seen in the photos below.  If you want to visit here is the address:

Starbucks store 13011
2001 – 8th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 467 5103

Tiana had been an Assistant Store Manager at the Pike Place Starbucks before this store and I met her there previously!  She has a lot of strength in understanding Starbucks’ history, and brings a great Starbucks culture for her partners and her customers.  I have always joked with Tiana that she is a famous partner!  Starbucks featured her in a You tube video about a year ago.

By the way, this store is located almost across the street from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precint, so don’t make any trouble in this store! ;-) ;-)

I thought I’d point out some of the aspects of this store that I like.  I noticed that the espresso bar area has what is called a “live edge,” meaning that the finished wood working retains some of its natural contours and grooves, rather than having a perfectly level and flat edge to the wood.  I am a fan of the natural beauty of a “live edge” to wood, and this bar area has a lot of contour and shape to it.  You can kind of see what I mean here in these two photos:

In the back of the store there is a hallway which leads to the restroom area.  The hallway wall has large coffee stamp posters for some of the international series of Starbucks coffees, such as Muan Jai and Peru.  I definitely liked this touch.  Starbucks produces a few very rare coffee offerings just for specific international markets, and the coffee stamp designs in this store represent some of those coffees:

And of course, I want to point out that there are comfy seats near the fish tank:

I hope you get a chance to visit this store!  Here are a few more pics! Enjoy!

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A mini Starbucks store review: The little University Village store.

by Melody on January 9, 2012

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If you are visiting Seattle’s University Village shopping center, there are two company-operated Starbucks stores.  One is very large and is well-known.  The other is a tiny little store about two blocks (or less) away near the Crate and Barrel store.  The large Starbucks store tends to get a lot of attention, and is a gorgeous LEED-Certified Clover Starbucks.  My feature article on the larger store is here.

I felt like I should do a little mini review of the tiny store because it is so often barely noticed, living in the shadow of the big University Village store.

The twitter profile for the little University Village is here:

University Village Starbucks store 3394 on twitter.

I dropped into the little University Village store today (January 7, 2012) and saw this nice chalk art, and was inspired to put together this “mini” store review article:

This little store is friendly, though I’ve noticed that it stays very busy.  Despite that it is a small store, the line can get long.  The address is 2650 – NE 49th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 (206) 522 6410.  I know I should probably not call it the “little” store, it’s just that one Starbucks is huge, and the other is tiny.  By the way, I also like the wall of coffee bags in this store.  I noticed that there is a Sun Dried Yirgacheffe coffee bag in the wall design.  Having seen many walls of coffee bags, I haven’t seen that bag included in many of these kinds of coffee-bag-wall designs.

So this is my “mini” review.  A few photos, and a mini write up!

Enjoy!  (By the way, if you like reading about store reviews, you find many more articles about Starbucks stores here.  Just click through the pages and enjoy!)

 

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Featured Clover Starbucks – 12th and Columbia in Seattle

by Melody on January 7, 2012

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Time for another store review! I decided to stop by the Starbucks on the corner of the 12th Avenue and Columbia, which is located near Seattle University in Seattle.  It added a Clover brewer last year (I think it was in the spring of 2011) and got its major remodel at about the same time as the major remodel.  The store first opened brand new on July 29, 2000.

I really had a great time visiting this store.  I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in, but it was a perfect visit.  I walked in and saw the store’s new design, and fell in love with the big clock on the wall.  I got some free brewed coffee in my special tumbler, and a slice of the lemon loaf.  I wasn’t in the store very long and I heard my name being called.  I recognized the voice immediately:  Tracy.  I’ve known Tracy, who is this store’s ASM, for going on five years.  She is a great partner.  I am not saying that having just met her once, but rather, I have been walking in and out of her stores for years.

When I first met Tracy she was a newer partner at the Pioneer Square Starbucks.  I recall asking the partners there, ‘Who coordinates the local art on display?‘ because I noticed that that store consistently did a great job of finding great local art.  As I recall, I was told, ‘Oh Tracy coordinates all that.‘  And that is how I met Tracy.  I think that was early 2008, or perhaps 2007.  From the Pioneer Square Starbucks, Tracy transferred to the International District Starbucks as a shift supervisor.  At that store, she continued the tradition of finding local art for the walls.  And now she is an Assistant Store Manager at this 12th and Columbia Starbucks.  She is awesome.  She is always knowledgeable and friendly, and she will be a great store manager some day.  We caught up for a few minutes, and I asked her how she liked this new store.  As it turns out, she says that this store has a surge of customers when school is in session, but when Seattle University is out on break, the store slows down dramatically.  She loves the store, and says the Clover does well.  This Starbucks visit was perfect.  By the way, Tracy is already very aware of the current Starbucks photography policy, so taking the photos for this blog article was not a problem at all.

The large clock on the wall was a design feature primarily considering that students are very often constantly thinking about getting to class.  There is one large community table in a corner adjacent to the Clover area.  I assume that table is a hot commodity for groups of students that meet here to study.

If you want to visit, here is the address:

12th & Columbia Starbucks (Store #3324)
800 – 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 329 8028

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

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Grand Opening: Starbucks opens a new Clover (and future beer and wine) store in Seattle

by Melody on January 2, 2012

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Today (Jan., 2, 2012) is the grand opening day for the most recent Starbucks location in Seattle.  It’s a beautiful 1800 square foot store in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and features a Clover, tall ceilings, friendly partners, and is slated to have beer and wine some time in the spring of this year.  I dropped by today and met up with the store’s manager, Janet, who knows me already from the Olive Way Starbucks.  She is absolutely wonderful. Janet is coffee-passionate, friendly, and knowledgeable.

This new store was designed in a similar vein to the Brewery Blocks Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, which is one of my favorite of the newer design styles.  It has a wall made from bicycle tubes, all sourced from local businesses.  I like the siren painted onto the wall.  There are few things I want to point out about this store.  The ceilings give you the impression you’re in a space much larger than its actual physical footprint, and Starbucks has wall murals, and/or wall art nearly all the way to the top of the ceilings.  Here’s a couple of photos kind of demonstrating the tall ceilings:

This store also has a very unique design when it comes to the pastry case, and the display of the ready-to-eat bistro boxes, and other refrigerated food offerings.  The pastry case is separate from the cold lunch  food, which is in a case embedded into a wall.  By the way, behind that wall is a very short hallway, the store’s community board, and access to the restrooms.

There already is a twitter page, in case you want to follow.  The ASM, Sarah, is the store’s official twitter voice:

Twitter profile for Starbucks at Terry and Republican

I attached a number of photos below so you can tour the store.  I noticed that this Starbucks has one of the copper-toned Clover machines, which I think is a very nice finishing touch.  Not all the Starbucks have that style (color) of Clover, and I think it is a nice finishing touch because it matches the look of the Mastrena espresso machine.

There is a small seating area in the very back of the store behind the espresso bar area, but it was too crowded with customers for any great photos of that area. However, I just want to point out that there is a little more seating than what it looks like at first glance, when you enter in the front doors.

The mural immediately behind the pastry case wall is a gorgeous floor to ceiling custom mural made just for this location.  I don’t have any great photos of it because of the narrow space and odd angle to try and photograph it.  But if you do visit this store, that’s something that should not be missed!

If you want to visit, here’s the address:

Starbucks store #15407
442 Terry Avenue North
Seattle, WA
(206) 467 4945

The store is located on the corner of Terry and Republican, and not far from the South Lake Union Trolley streetcar, which appears to run almost directly in front of the store.  Please come by and say hello to Janet (the store manager), Sarah (the ASM), and everyone else on this great team!

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

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Featured Clover Starbucks: 220th & Aurora Avenue in Edmonds, Washington

December 22, 2011

True story: Overheard in a Starbucks today: “Tell Howie he did a good job.”  Today (December 11, 2011), I decided to visit the Starbucks located at the intersection of 220th Street and Highway 99 in Edmonds, Washington.  It’s the only Clover Starbucks in Snohomish County (as far as I know.) Unlike most of my store [...]

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The Shipping Container Starbucks store

December 19, 2011
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On Tuesday, December 13, 2011, Starbucks opened their first store constructed out of shipping containers.  The store is located in Tukwila, Washington, at 3302 Northfolk Street, Tukwila, 206 – 762 – 3249 (Starbucks store number 15560).  It’s actually close to the intersection of Norfolk and East Marginal Way, which is not far from the Museum [...]

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Featured Clover Starbucks – The International District store in Seattle (505 Union Station)

December 7, 2011
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It’s time to feature the Clover Starbucks in Seattle’s International District.  It is actually at 505 Union Station, which is not to be confused with “Union Street” in Seattle, which is not near this store.  In early September this year, the store went through a major remodel, and so I thought it would be fun to [...]

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Downtown Olympia, WA Starbucks – Featured Clover store.

November 3, 2011
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In a small Starbucks store, tucked away between Legion Way and Capitol Way South, there is a Clover brewer in Olympia, Washington.  As many readers know, I am on a quest to visit as many Clover Starbucks as possible, so I decided to take a quick drive down to Olympia.  It’s only a little over [...]

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1912 Pike Place, a quick visit

October 24, 2011

This morning, on my way into work, I dropped by the Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place.   I was running a little early, and to be honest, that rarely happens.  I got a perfect doppio con panna.  Actually, that’s a beverage that I do enjoy, but rarely order.  I really do have a small preference for [...]

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University Village Starbucks – The 2nd Starbucks ever. (Featured Clover store)

October 21, 2011

University Village Starbucks is the iconic store “302.”  The Pike Place Market store at 1912 Pike Place is “301.”  This gorgeous store has always been a Starbucks hub, even before University Village was an upscale shopping center!  This store has been there forever.  Well, actually it’s been there since September 1, 1972.  As I understand [...]

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