Welcome to #throwbackthursday!

A lot of people have seen this image inside Starbucks stores:

1 - 1 - 20150911_080124 Old Starbucks Van 7th and Pike photoThis photo of the old-era delivery truck hangs at the Roastery and some stores have a framed image of it. I took this picture at the 7th and Pike Starbucks in Seattle. You might wonder when this photo dates from or any of the story behind it. In early March this year (March 3rd), I was at the Roastery, interviewing a former Starbucks partner who had worked for the company for close to 30 years. While I was there interviewing this former partner, in walked a gentleman named Steve Ramsey. I had never met Steve Ramsey before and didn’t know him at all. This was a remarkable odd set of coincidences that happened. Steve Ramsey and the former partner I was interviewing recognized each other.

Steve said to me, “I heard there was a framed photo of that truck I bought at the Roastery. I came into see it!” And I remember this clearly, he joked, “Who knew that cute little truck I bought 30 years ago would be forever framed and cherished for so long?” It was because Steve and the former partner (who I was interviewing) recognized each other that I got to hear this. Otherwise, I would have never even talked to him! Steve Ramsey said that he only worked for Starbucks for a very short while. (My recollection is that he said something like 1978 – 1980. I wish I had written down the years!). Steve said that Gordon Bowker told him, “go buy a truck” to deliver coffee, and gave Steve very little instruction on what he wanted. Steve came back with a truck, pictured above. Steve said that Gordon said to him, “Weren’t we expecting something a little bit bigger?” And that’s the story of the truck in the above image.

On Saturday, September 12th, I was visiting the Roastery and noticed this Starbucks delivery van:

2 - 1 - 20150910_113132 Current Starbucks Truck2 - 1 - 20150910_113315 rear of Starbucks delivery vanI thought it would be fun to look at a “then and now” of the Starbucks delivery truck (van). I briefly talked with the driver of the Starbucks van and he said he delivers freshly-roasted coffee to area restaurants.

Somethings never change! 😉