photo by joshc: see link in text body!
Check out the 15th Ave Coffee and Tea on Capitol Hill in Seattle. The coffee shop opened on July 24th, and represents a new wave of concept in coffee shops, a concept that readers of Coffee Shop Journal will recognize immediately: local coffee shops built around community. The only surprising thing? 15th Ave is actually a Starbucks store.
Normally, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, we assume it is a duck. In this case, there’s not a whole lot “duck like” about the new concept. It doesn’t look much like a Starbucks, except in that family-resemblance kind of way when your great Aunt tells you all the cousins look alike. There is a great flickr photo slideshow here that gives some detailing in the new store.
So what makes makes 15th Ave different? Here’s what I’ve seen so far:
- The concept of “local” resonates with all of us right now. We want to now and be known, and Starbucks is working to understand that concept.
- 15th Ave can offer smaller batch coffees, different brewing methods and new selections without alienating the Starbucks audience.
- 15th Ave can offer local pastries without worrying about the “keep in consistent” cry from customers. They can offer new choices at will. They can experiment with offerings that Starbucks can’t touch, such as beer or wine sales.
- Local musicians and groups will be more likely to play in and patronize local shops.
All of this, of course, does not go down easily with the skeptical coffee-drinking public. Some naysayers refuse to consider 15th Ave a local shop if it is “inspired by Starbucks” (which is what its signage says). There is some question as to how Starbucks can translate the local concept into other local venues. And of course, there is that family resemblance that people will notice.
In the meantime, I guess it’s back to Seattle I go again!
