By five o’clock, two more friends had joined them, and the barista was back with bacon-wrapped dates, chicken-sausage-and-mushroom flatbread, and truffle mac and cheese.
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When it comes to the subject of Charbucks (er, Starbucks), I usually have a few choice things to say.
It’s not your mother’s Starbucks fare, by design.
For Vanessa Dalto, a medical assistant who regularly visits the Starbucks in Williamsburg, the evening menu does more than just dilute the brand. The coffee company will add booze in its menu in places such as New York, Miami, Denver, northern California, and Orlando. The beer and wine sales will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. each day when the store closes. There are four beers, which, in the case of the Williamsburg outpost, all hail from Brooklyn, for $4 to $5 a pop. The small plates top off at $7.
When Bell opened The West five years ago, she hoped to create a productive space for a cast of regulars as interested in the projects on their laptops as the poet performing before them, drinking as many artisan cups as cold-brew coffee as unusual beers and specialty cocktails. Customers have so far responded positively to Starbucks’ sweeping changes, but that could soon shift as the company runs out of new fans to win over. “It’s kind of nice to be able to come here at night, do my work, and have a glass”. “Who wants to sit in here and be on their laptop and worry about some idiot spilling their drink?” And all alcoholic beverages come with a delicate glass bowl filled with spiced pepitas, so as to avoid unwanted public intoxication. The Algonquin Starbucks recently got the OK to serve beer and wine.
“Our customers have been very clear that to them, this isn’t a bar experience”, she said.
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Although many people might enjoy the increase in fast-food restaurants and coffee shops serving alcohol, it raises the question of what impact it has on local communities. Davis said the evening program extension is a good business move for Starbucks, and will dramatically increase its customer base.
