This Starbucks is amazing. It’s located near the University of Texas at Austin, on 24th Street. I visited it as part of pre-planned, scheduled, tour of Austin, Texas Starbucks stores on Sunday, February 20, 2011. On that Sunday, it was the first of the three stores we went to, and so we arrived at about the noon hour.
Let’s recap the Texas Starbucks this blog has written about: On this Sunday (the 20th), the scheduled stores included this store for its unique local design, a two story Starbucks with solar panels on the drive thru, and a LEED Certified Starbucks. Also on the 19th of the February (Saturday), I visited a Starbucks in Bedford, Texas. By the way, this blog has talked about Starbucks in Texas a couple of times: I know from my analytics that I have a significant Texas readership, and it impresses me how there is so much coffee passion in Texas. In 2009, I wrote a store review of a Starbucks in Southlake, Texas located in the TownSquare shopping plaza (that was a “spontaneous” store visit, and happened to be the store closest to my hotel). In 2009, I also had an absolutely perfect visit to a second Starbucks in Southlake, Texas (called the “White Chapel” Starbucks, though I’m not entirely sure where that store gets its name). The bottom line is that the “Starbucks experience” is alive and well in Texas, well, at least ninety-five percent of the time.
Turning back to Starbucks store 6284, near the University of Texas, every single partner was very friendly. The store was clean, but packed with people. I had a terrible time getting good photos because I didn’t want to be featuring customers (any more than incidental customer appearances) in the blog post. It is really a shame but I never got a quality photo of the large community table because it was crowded with customers while I was there. Their community table is totally unique. I’ve never seen another one like it. Each leg is painted a different color! The table has been carefully designed with the thought that the store’s customer base is largely students from University of Texas. There are electric outlets designed into the center of the table.
This store is unique. Starbucks store design gets a huge A+. The framed wall art selections are historic University of Texas photographs, again reinforcing the local element to this store. Take a look at the huge patio. It is amazing. I was stunned to see cushions on outside seating. It must not rain a lot in Austin.
Again, I’m sorry that I don’t have better store photos, but the store was packed. And kudos to the partners for somehow maintaining a perfect store even during a rush of customers. By the way, while visiting this store I got to order a Trenta! The Trenta size cup has not yet arrived in Seattle, so this was very exciting for me! LOL. I tried the new black tea, which was okay. I admit that I prefer the “Awake” black tea over the new “classic” black tea. In the photo of my Trenta cup, you really see the personality of this store radiating through. Notice that “Welcome to Austin” is written on the cup, and that the bar barista thought it would be fun to be in the photo. We did a quick mini tasting of Casi Cielo, which is a favorite coffee of mine (one of many favorites!). By the way, the store partners had no way of knowing how much I love Casi Cielo. That was just good luck!
This is a perfect store.
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Just as an aside, I know that it might be disconcerting to a Starbucks to have a blogger show up at their store. However in the year 2011, anyone can have a blog, and basically everyone can produce content. This is definitely not the only Starbucks blog out there. And you never know which customers might have larger, more significant blogs. The perfect example of this comes from about one year ago when “Serious Eats” dropped by the First and Pike Starbucks in downtown Seattle. That store had no idea they were coming, but they were on their game, and Serious Eats wrote a lovely review of their experience there. Any customer can be media, and the “beacon” Starbucks stores (Clover stores, LEED Certified Stores, and unique design stores) are going to experience more of this kind of thing than a normal Starbucks.
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Enjoy your trip to this Austin, Texas Starbucks! The address, if you want to visit, is as follows:
Starbucks store 6284
504 West 24th Street
Austin, Texas 78705
(512) 472 5211
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I absolutely love this store! I haven’t been, but next time I’m in Austin I will be sure to drop by. It looks amazing on the outside, and I love the interior as well! I’ll just have to make sure not to wear any of my Aggie gear, what with the rivalry and all. 😉
I’m glad you enjoyed this visit and got to try a Trenta! That’s still on my list of things to do, as well! Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures!
This store is great! I love the design and the description of the community table with the different legs is just so neat. I have seen other community tables at SB locations near colleges, but not with different colored legs. Just came back from my local SB and after reading this thread I sure wish the design team would do a makeover of my local store. Sounds like this SB is paying attention to the community it serves. Kudos to them.
@Pencil_tp_paper and @Purple1 – Thanks! This was really one of the highlights of the trip. I love the whimsy of the store partners. My Trenta cup really had me smiling ear to ear, though I don’t think I said that to the store partners, but what a nice touch. And loved the walls. I loved it in the John Moore sense of “listening to the walls” and loved the local framed photos. I hope this store doesn’t get re-designed any time soon! Don’t change a thing!
Another interesting store and info from you Melody. (I too think your ‘welcome sign’ on our trenta cup was sweet) Speaking of trenta: there’s nothing I can think of that I could drink that much of, at once…… Maybe (a few!) yrs ago after a hard workout or long run…and then it’d be water. otherwise, I can’t see it. BUT, I realize it’s a hit n some places.
I too like the community table and colored legs! very cool. I didn’t care for that wall with those frames on it …seemed kind of out of place. The outside furniture looks GREAT!
best of all, all the partners were ‘good’…friendly and I assume, can make the drinks. which reminds me: I need to go get a Sbux!!! snowing, just saw “The King’s Speech”….did everyone else cry at the end??? for me, it was alot, I think, the history of it and WWII and my parents generation…..my dad stationed in England, etc. Very emotional….and wayyyyy off topic! sorry. now, I know why my headaches: I NEED MY DRINK!!! am going now!. yikes! I’ll feel so much better with my 4(ristretto)shot tall skim cinn. dolce and FOAM!!!!! …foam like whip cream!
This store really is one of the most unique stores I have ever been to! I love the huge patio, rod iron, and countless windows!!! This store is truly a Starbucks treasure! 😀
I love the outside of this building! Ahh, it looks warm down there. Freezing here, of course. Just got back from the store, where I acquired some Girl Scout cookies & a Starbucks hot chocolate. Yum!
(@denise r – I agree. I feel like offering to fill those frames with –something–!)
Regarding why the Starbucks store in Southlake is called “White Chapel”…..it is located near the intersection of White Chapel Road and Southlake Blvd. :o)
The first photo is good, Melody is welcomed very much.
I was surprised too. There is cushions in patio!
Also I think that electric outlets are very good. That’s very convenient for customer.
Love, love, love the coffee beans spread on the table for the coffee display. Like seeing the creativity of the partners.
Saddened that you will no longer be writing store reviews, but given the fact that you are darned if you do and darned if you don’t, it is completely understandable.
This was a great trio of blogs, Melody!
Melody, I am intrigued by your description of the community table (is my engineer showing 😉 ), particularly the electrical outlets.
I sure would like to have seen a picture of the table and the outlets. A local McD’s has a long oval community “bar” (I call it a bar because it is bar height with tall fixed stools) that has a raised center island with the electical outlets on the vertical sides of the island (carefully designed to keep spills out of the outlets).
Kudos for another interesting post.
Wouldn’t it be cool if those picture frames were used to frame something relating to coffee like burlap or those old promotional posters I see come and go…they could serve a sort of historical function and add to the atmosphere slightly more than they are now…? Just a thought. Being a graphics designer, I think there is something missing from the picture, no pun intended, although I think there is a certain artistic appeal to having empty frames on the wall. Perhaps the emptiness represents a message that more is to come in the future? Or, just maybe, they want the observer to picture whatever suits there fancy. I really don’t know. I really like this blog post.
I love this store! When I was 10 years old I went here during a school trip and the baristas at the time made me want to work at Starbucks! Now I do. : )
GRRR! I wish I could have gone during this particular visit!!!!!! I’m happy that your visit was a good one! This store is beautiful, and its baristas are fantastic. I love everything about this store!!! I tell my friends that I want to manage a cafe like this one one day! And hopefully that’ll be soon!
@denise r. I nearly cried at the end of “The King’s Speech”, too! It was such a well done film. I want that to win best picture at the Oscars. We all have our own personal struggles, but we can do our best to overcome them… and we may not overcome them perfectly, but as long as we’re surrounded by people we love and find passion and reason for what we do, then its ok…. I love the scene where the queen is in the kitchen with the speech therapist’s wife!
Wow, the exterior of that store is really unique!
P.S., Melody, I love Casi Cielo, too. Unfortunately, all the stores I go to are out of it.
@Anthony – I bet this store must’ve been on like their last bag of Casi Cielo. I was at a downtown Starbuck (Key Tower Starbucks on Fri) s the other day and saw a few bags left, so I bought all 3 pounds just so I could have it for a little longer, but it is pretty completely gone from downtown Seattle now. Thank you for the comment. 🙂
@Katie – That is a great story! I love it. @CamSpi – I must have missed how we got on the topic of movies, but I loved the King’s Speech. I was nearly in tears at the end of it too. Glad you like this store as much as I do! I think you’re going to have to fight the current SM for control of it if you want to come manage it. 😉
@SuzanneC – I don’t know if it will really be the last time I write a store review but there are things that will change: I will try to only do stores where I already know the partners, or I’ve been asked to come cover the store. I’ve had that happen a couple of times (and again, soon on 3-1) where I’ve been asked to come show off a store. If I travel to do a store review, I am going to try and figure out how to make sure the store knows I’m coming. And there will be fewer store reviews in the future, for sure. Like I said, it’s not the end of store reviews totally, but they’ll be far more infrequent. I do think they’re a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type of blog content.
Living in New York I see those pictures and get so jealous! I can’t think of a single store in NYC that has the space to put chairs outside! I guess it’s freezing here half the year too, but I’m so jealous! I would love to be able to sit outside during a break or come back when I’m not working and enjoy a coffee outside. I LOVED your reviews!
Oww cool, i like the trenta cups.. 🙂
@Melody: I brought up just coming back from “The King’s Speech” (where I DID cry!) and said I was sorry…got way off topic;)
@Rachel – Thanks for your help! I have my moments of being very spacey. I think I’d heard that before, but totally forgot! @Nick – Most of the stores here are too small for this, and you never see cushions outside here in Seattle either. @DeniseR – I love going to the movies!
Damn incredible patio outside…wooow! A real treasure this store…:D
@Melody: thank goodness for your cards. I was just standing in line at my Sbux for a tall bold (pour over of course…God forbid there’s less than 2 pots of :((( PPR brewing at all time). A nice guy (with a girl….or girlfrnd???? either way) behing me starting talking to her about a “skinny” caramel macchiato and what is a ‘skinny’ drink (anyhting) She didn’t know so I filled him in. Then he started telling me he just wants his drinks not so sweet, so I tell him # ‘pumps’ etc. Long story long…he asked me could I please be there every time he’s at Sbux! cute. (I told him it might be likely, I’m there sometime almost every day:) I also told him just a bit about ‘ristretto’ shots but, the place was packed at that moment AND ALWAYS NEED MORE HELP ON SUNDAYS…..plus the two who were on, one was relatively new, not quite the ‘dream team’…so I KNEW they #1: partially couldn’t carry on much conversation with him and 2) I know what they likely DON’T know. Anyway, I always, as in this case, find it very handy to pull out one of your cards, give a brief bit on you and this blog and then tell them to just check it out…they’ll learn alot.
I never know if anyone ever shows up here, but….. I give them the info!
ps: @campsi: you seem like a really sweet person. just fy….. (as do most folks here, of course!!!)
@Melody, one of denise r’s recent comments mentioned your “cards”. Would you consider making a PDF of your cards that we could download, then print on cardstock ideally, and have available to hand out in situations like denise r mentioned.
@DadCooks – I’ll try to get a store partner to send me a photo of the table after the store is closed, or when no one is sitting at it, so you can see what I mean. As to making a pdf, I hadn’t really thought about that. I simply went to Kinkos (now owned by FedEx I think) and used some auto program and bought a pretty large supply of those little brown cards. I’ve been giving them out like crazy, and it’s finally time to order more. I get a kick out of the thought that the cards are all over this country, though probably in my mind I’ve embellished how many stores have them. I gave some to a partner touristing in NYC, and he said he put a few in NYC stores. I put them up in Seattle stores often. They are now in several Texas stores. I think Hayley (who I miss!!!) had put some in a few stores in Arizona. They might be in a few stores in California too. Send me an email with your address and I will send you a big stack of them! Melody at StarbucksMelody dot com.
Wow Melody, you really should consider a coffee table book of all of these unique stores and the stories that go with them.
@denise r and @camspi – I really liked the line in The King’s Speech that said that now you are grown you no longer need to be afraid of what you were afraid of when you were five. (paraphrasing). Very nice movie.
well, since we kind of are on (at least ONE movie): yay! The King’s Speech won!!! and, was that not the most horrible horrible Academy Awards show??? (not as bad, I’m guessing, when it’s on much eariler..ie: west. but here, it’s late and when it’s bad…..ughhhh)
@campsi and CD: yes, there were many memorable scenes in that movie! many.
@Melody: your cards are a huge help, as I said. I can tell you for sure, they are all over Chicgao-land. what gets done with them, I never know. I know one of my fave best baristas told me that she goes on here all the time. ???
just an fyi re: the soon-to-be-available Kona: it’s NOT in Reserve stores around Chicago yet. I believed what was written over on the other side (at Ideas in A. on msi) and it appeared to me it was out! I should’ve called….instead I went ahead and drove the little 9miles, passing ump-teen Sbux on the way to find out it will NOT be out for another week and a half or so. Of course, I still enjoyed a blue java Clover but was highly disappointed…really wanted to taste and buy some Kona. Very very good store tho… totally “on their game”.
Hi Y’all! (there’s some TX spirit!) 😉 I like the 3 store reviews for TX…and I’m glad 2 out of 3 weren’t bad! I do respect your honesty in the post that was slightly negative…good or bad it is what customers across the US experience and I’m sure your feedback should be considered as constructive. We all want to have legendary experiences because we know there are so many great baristas around! 🙂
@Melody Aww thank you! *blushes* I have been pretty busy with work and a class I am taking. You do have some cards up around Arizona and Hawaii!! I took some on my trip and put them up at a Starbucks in Oahu last September. Speaking of Hawaii…I was excited to hear the Kona coffee is the next Reserve offering. Now I just ask they get ONE Reserve store in the state of AZ so I can have it again! I’m still upset I never got to try the Nic. Corcasan, but I haven’t heard much about it, so maybe I wasn’t missing much. 🙂
@Denise that makes me so sad 🙁 That they wouldn’t know! As a partner it’s your job to tune into customers needs and aid even when they are too shy to ask!
btw, the note on your cup is awesome melody 🙂
We write notes on each others cups (sometimes I wish I could keep them forever lol) and on regulars from time to time. That’s the nice thing about sharpies 😉 Funny how such a simple thing can mean so much!
Lovely post. I would love to work at this location.
@Harrison – I would too if I were a partner. This is one of the finest stores I’ve ever visited. I am so glad I got to it. It’s well managed. It’s a charming design. It has nice partners.