Starbucks: Redefining The New York Minute
By: Jarrod Grim
You may be thinking what a lot of people are thinking – another Starbucks? Lower Manhattan has 20 locations for the caffeine-obsessed. So what differentiates this new one at 14 Wall Street? Starbucks launched a pilot version for an express model, essentially the “espresso shot” version of your typical store experience — and chose Lower Manhattan as its first spot. Perfect for the fast-paced New Yorker.
The space is small, a little over 500 square feet. There are no seats and a reduced menu. The concept is streamlined: get you in and out. Customers give their order to an employee via a handheld device. A few minutes later, you are walking out the door, beverage in hand. The space may be tight and the experience quick, but Starbucks did not skimp on design. “This location on Wall Street was intentionally designed to take what’s at the heart of our cafés and distill that for a smaller space,” says Bill Sleeth, Starbucks vice president for Store Design. “It is the perfect example of how to balance high design, attention to detail and efficiency, while maintaining what is unique to who we are – our coffee and the connection between our customers and partners.”
Wall Street is one of New York’s iconic streets and has reinvented itself through the years. Now it has welcomed an iconic American coffee chain that has reinvented itself on this very thoroughfare.