My favorite Starbucks at Spring/Crosby streets in SoHo NYC has undergone a dramatic Clover pimped-out cafe/interior design makeover. The gruff wooden floors and wobbly chairs: gone! The Starbucks interior now looks like a modern hotel lobby or a cafe in Paris.
I visited last week. I sat on a plush metal-studded bench, placed my soy chai on an industrial metal cafe table and I sipped until the very last drop. Great people-watching in a now quite polished atmosphere. A drastic makeover - and I must say I kinda loved it...
Clover Machines. The band new Clover coffee machines were on display - you can't miss them. A new offering of single brewed coffee was added to the menu. Prices on the Today's Offerings list read like a wine list. Different prices for different coffee bean sources. Peru Chanchamayo, $2.15 for a Tall. While the Ethiopia Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe is $3.50 for a Tall.
But the makeover comes with some controversy. Find out why, and get my interior photo tour and makeover commentary of this Starbucks makeover...
Starbucks Controversy. After I tweeted about the makeover last week, one @reply from one of my followers stuck out in my brain. He said,
"@lunchboxbunch it's called co-opting legitimate cafe culture. And it sucks wicked bad." -@EricLepine
Hmm, I liked his perspective, but don't really agree. I am 100% in favor of supporting local, independent coffee cafes instead of always going to giant brand Starbucks. But I think if Starbucks wants to put some big bucks into revamping their stores - I say go for it!
However, Starbucks should expect to get more laptop-dwellers, all-day-student loungers, using-Starbucks-as-my-office-ers and order-one-coffee-then-hang-out-for-five-hours type customers. With a store so nice, who would want to leave?
...I say this because my husband and I were at Starbucks SoHo on Saturday when one un-uniformed manager started floating around to tables actually telling customers to basically hurry up, drink, and leave - or buy more coffee! Some customers hadn't ordered yet or had clearly finished their bevies a while ago.. She floated around to customers seated at the cafe tables, here is the direct quote...
"Can I get a drink order started for you? We have a lot of customers who want to sit." -starbucks un-uniformed manager
Crazy right?? Very bad customer service, but I'm guessing this isn't an actual Starbucks policy. Anyways, more about the new Clover Coffee and then check out my photo slideshow of the makeover...
Clover at Starbucks. It's funny. Just a few days ago, my husband and I were in Cafe Grumpy in NYC sipping cafe bevies. My husband's eyes were glued on the Clover machine that Cafe Grumpy used. He was ogling it in the same way I ogle the fruit at a Greenmarket. He even went back after his cappuccino to try a cup of the legendary single-brewed coffee. He was a happy coffee-lover. He even remarked that he heard a rumor that a Starbucks executive discovered Clover machines at Cafe Grumpy.
Starbucks Clover Coffee Nutrition Facts
Then Saturday I stumbled into Starbucks Soho at Crosby and Spring and voila! Clover machines in full display, Clover branding everywhere. Extreme interior makeover....
Get my interior tour and check out all the Starbucks Makeover details...
