Starbucks is expanding beer and wine sales at its coffee shops, including one in Brooklyn. Others sat quietly on the numerous bar stools throughout the restaurant, hunched over newspapers and laptops, keeping to themselves. The latest push to offer wine and beer could particularly turn off loyal customers anxious that their sacred workspace will become more boisterous and further dilute Starbucks’ brand. The company hopes to expand the new menu to two thousand stores in the next five years. “I think it does the opposite”. There are so many other locations for coffee purists who want locally roasted, artisanal-like coffees.
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You won’t be seeing me later, Starbucks.
In recent years, Starbucks has slowly begun to transform from a workspace to a cafe that encourages social gatherings.
I hopped on the train to Williamsburg to see for myself if Starbucks has what it takes to be a nightly social hub.
Ten wines are available, ranging in price from $8 to $15, along with several beers from nearby Brooklyn Brewery.
In case you missed the news, Starbucks is no longer content just to be the king of coffee. “They are striving to be more about a lifestyle or destination and less about the coffee in your cup”. It’s a coffeehouse. Or more to the point, in Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s vision, it’s a “third place” – a space that’s set apart from work or home and has something of the feel of an urban oasis. “It’s becoming an adult soda shop”.
The Algonquin Starbucks recently got a thumbs-up of its own and has since received its liquor license. This program is called, the “evening program” and it has been under testing stages since 2010. This Starbucks in Williamsburg closes at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night. He said he probably would not use the location for evening drinks.
“There aren’t that many places to go in the evening where you can go very relaxed, very casual”. Yep, alcohol. Well now they have it.
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But here’s the thing: I don’t come to Starbucks for excitement. More than 500 locals signed a petition, claiming that Starbucks would threaten local business owners. “People live there, play there, work there”, she said. “It’s going to make the atmosphere rambunctious”.
