COMMENTARY | Starbucks Coffee has announced they plan to open their menus up to include some interesting new products: beer and wine.
This won’t be the only change in the select few trial locations in Southern California and Georgia. Included with the adult imbibements will be select nosh for the sophisticated hipster and modern Bohemian. To better accommodate their customers, these new menus will also slowly tailor themselves to the local color and trends; assuring a better local fit.
This bold new direction comes after experiencing success in a few Seattle and Portland locations. Pleased with the results, the Seattle-based coffee chain is expanding onward and outward. There goal it to make Starbucks into an all-hours destination.
If this trend catches, Starbucks could be qualified to enter the realm of the tapa bars. Tapa bars are a unique dining experience originating in Spain. Alongside a wine and sometimes ale selection, tapas serve small appetizer portions of a wide range of breads, meats, cheeses, and other snacks. This might be bad news for businesses like Barcelona Wine Bar, who have only begun to migrate the concept into America as a chain. Even if Starbucks doesn’t take on the principle services of a tapa bar, their current model for serving wine is competitive.
Starbucks has come a long way from the simple coffee house in Seattle, Washington. From the first store in 1971 to the presence in more than 55 countries now, Starbucks has managed to sink its feet in as a company to stay. Internally, they have already expanded from just morning coffee to serving quality pastries, breakfast nibbles, and light and tasty lunch bites. Customers can find “Starbucks” brand coffees and even ice creams in their local supermarket.
Starbucks is certainly on to a prosperous concept, offering the customers their morning coffee for work and then giving them a place to have a few drinks and unwind once work is over. Considering the company’s success in becoming a cornerstone in many American’s morning routines, this new iteration has a promising future for both the company and the customer.