Starbucks - Marlton, New Jersey

Marlton, NJ
Routes 70 and 73
http://www.starbuckseverywhere.net/NewJersey.htm

Before I get started, I want to say that my youngest daughter has told me that I do not add enough details or personal feelings to my blogs.  Today I will try to do better on both accounts.

I've loved Starbucks since my very first visit to a shop in Seattle, Washington in 1990.  My husband and I had taken a trip to the Seattle without the girls.  It didn't take either of us to realize that Seattle and the surrounding area "owned" the American coffee world.  It was the first time that I had ever seen roadside espresso stands.  I loved it.  We happened into the Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place, Seattle, becoming a fan right away.  When in 1994 Starbucks opened their very first shop in Houston, Texas, we would drive all the way across town just to get a Starbucks.  It wasn't until we returned from a two year stint in France that we discovered that we now had not one but two Starbucks in our own "backyard".  We were thrilled! 

Starbucks became the "carrot" for excellent school work and great test scores.  Many times when the girls were given the opportunity to pick their reward for some activity, they would choose a drink at Starbucks.  At Christmas they were excited to find a Starbucks gift card in their stocking.  My oldest daughter even ended her 16th birthday slumber party with a morning trip to Starbucks.  Starbucks, an American company, found a way into our lives while making us feel like we were a part of the Starbucks family.

With all of that being said, I've never been a big fan of the Starbucks that I visited this week.  Why does this shop not have the Starbucks name on both sides of the building?  I have over the years taken letters or books to this Starbucks and spent some time inside either at the window bar or if available in one of the comfy chairs, but I've never really liked the inside.  It is small and basically you sit right at the doors, so in the winter it can be cold and drafty.  It was with all of this in mind that I headed into this Starbucks.  Much to my surprise, things have changed.  The inside seating arrangements have been totally redone.  I headed over to the leather comfy chairs staking out one for myself.  I settled in with my green tea and stationary for my soldier's letter.  This being a busy location at the intersection of two major highways, this Starbucks has always seemed to me to be more of a quick stop in, run out kind of place with the occasional customer or group settling in for any length of time.  But today it felt different.  Several people were working on their computers and others were reading.  All seemed to stick around as long as I did.  I noticed that a bulletin board had been added.  When I checked out what was posted,  it was local news.  I'm happy about that, because I want my Starbucks to be around for a long time.  Making themselves more a member of the local community will build loyalty.  I think that slowly over the years Starbucks has become too cookie cutter, just the latest addition to the fast food kingdom.

COMFORT COMMENTS:  So many nice changes here.  The window bar is gone, which is okay with me since you were basically watching the auto traffic when seated at the bar.  Now there are eight leather over-stuffed chairs with tables and foot stools.  I loved the foot stools.  I had just come from ice skating and needed to elevate my knee.  The foot stool was perfect.  This Starbucks Coffee Shop has a very long wooden table that seats 12 at the front of the store.  I find that interesting, I would guess that it was added for traffic flow of customers.  I wonder if it is ever full.  Although I could tell that it had been used, no one used it while I was in the shop.  There were 5-6 tables with chairs along the large windows on the other side of the shop from me and a bench type seating in the back of the shop.  I loved the lighting, very modern and moody.  Nice selection of music playing.  I noticed that many times either employees or customers were singing along.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  Very clean.  Several times during the time that I was in the shop, employees cleaned and straightened the condiments tables and seating areas.  The women's restroom was clean.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I heard them having fun with each other and with customers.

PICK OF THE WEEK:  R.E.M. "Oh My Heart"

INTERESTING/ENTERTAINING WEB-SITES:
http://www.starbucks.com/
http://www.soldiersangels.org/
http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/
http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Join-the-Coffee-Party-Movement-in-Washington-State/362064099762
   

Starbucks - Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Cedar and Fairmount)

Okay, this has got to be the very best Starbucks Coffee Shop that I've ever visited.  I decided to spend my afternoon in this Starbucks simply because I liked the picture that I saw of the building while googling Cleveland area Starbucks.  Upon arrival, I realized that I would have to use metered parking on the street in front of Starbucks.  Now maybe there was free parking available, but being unfamiliar with the area I just wasn't sure and didn't want to drive around looking for it. After I paid the meter, quarter/30 minutes, I headed in with my low expectations in hand.  Low expectations that were directly related to the fact that I had to pay for parking.  I hate paying for parking, it just sorta puts me in a bad frame of mind.  Spoiled child of the burbs, I guess. Or just one of my "they tax us to death" pet peeves. 

Cleveland Heights
Cedar and Fairmount

Once I was inside of the shop all of my bad feelings dissolved.  I felt like I had entered a ski lodge.  On my right was a fireplace with seating all around it.  Of course, I headed straight away for one of the over-stuffed leather chairs facing the fire.  Once settled in with my Tazo Venti China Green Tips tea, I started checking out the rest of the shop.  The place was packed with people reading or working on their laptops.  Most people were alone.  I started to feel like I was in a college student center.  Matter-of-fact, I was probably within a mile or two of Case Western Reserve University.  I'm sure that that must account for the "student" feel of the shop.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself inside this Starbucks Coffee Shop.  Prior to coming, I had been ice skating, so I was a bit chilled from that and it was a cold Cleveland day.  There is nothing like a fire to warm one, even if it is all just a mental pleasure. 

COMFORT COMMENTS:  This has to be one of the most comfortable Starbucks that I've visited.  The choice of seating was pretty amazing.  There were over-stuffed cloth chairs, over-stuffed leather chairs, leather couch, bench couch along one wall with tables, window bar with bar stools, and tables with regular dining chairs.  The main seating area was carpeted, which I loved.  As mentioned above, there was a fireplace with fire burning that was on a raised ceramic tile platform.  Several people seated around the fireplace had their feet propped up on the platform.  People were so comfortable that one man had taken his shoes off to gain more comfort.  Because I had parked in the one hour limit metered parking, I had to leave way before I felt like leaving.  I will definitely visit this Starbucks again and again once I reside in Cleveland.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  Very clean, even the carpet in the main dining area was clean.  Plenty of room for customer comfort and for the service area.  I really liked the service area, which had a glass shelving wall displaying coffee products and Starbucks products.  The restroom was clean.  I hope that the Cherry Hill Starbucks has put in one of the user friendly trashcans that all the other Starbucks seem to have in their restrooms.  I noticed that employees cleaned the condiments bar while I was in the shop.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I was seated in such a way that I could not observe the employees nor hear their conversations. 

HELPFUL/INTERESTING WEB-SITES:
www.starbucks.com
www.case.edu
www.tazo.com
www.clevelandheights.com

Starbucks - Fort Myers, Florida





Miromar Outlet Mall
Fort Myers, Florida

Lucky me!! I got to spend last week on Fort Myers Beach with a dear friend.  I loved this Starbucks Shop before I even went in the front door.  It took me a moment to decide just where I wanted to sit.  The outside seating was very tempting with plenty of tables and umbrellas.  But once inside, I discovered window seating with choice of bar stools at a window bar or over-stuffed chairs with a good view of both the windows and the front door.  Choices, choices.  I finally made up my mind to sit at the window bar with a view of the outside seating and the fountain in the center court.. 

The line at the service bar stayed full the whole time that I was in the shop, which was over 90 minutes.  Customers seemed to really enjoy sipping their drinks and eating their snacks while watching the foot traffic around the mall shops.  There seemed to be a quick turnover of all the seats except the outside seating and the over-stuffed chairs, which caused the character of the shop to be very organic and fluctuating with the ebb and flow of the crowd.   I think that it was very interesting that this Starbucks had such a happy character when I can safely say that it is not a "hometown hangout".  Could it be the colors?  The sunshine?  The fountain?  Or that people are happy to be able to take a break in a familiar spot while on vacation....Starbucks is to comfort zone as chicken soup is to comfort food.

I've started to collect the new Starbucks coffee mugs with the names of either cities or states on them.  I intend to only collect the ones that have a special meaning to me, such as:  Ohio - I grew up in towns along the Ohio River and have lived in Toledo, Ohio; Cleveland - someday, I guess, I will live in Cleveland; Washington, DC; Philadelphia; New York City; Florida - many good memories of trips to Florida with my parents and now I'm building memories with my friend in Fort Myers Beach.   The Florida mug has an alligator and an egret on it.  So far it is my favorite.

SHOP COMMENTS:  Beautiful clean shop.  Plenty of seating - outside and inside - with choices between bar stools at a window bar, over-stuffed leather chairs, chairs and tables.  Employees cleaned the condiments bar a couple times while I was in the shop.  I liked the fact that this Starbucks Coffee was participating in a drive for MDA ( Muscular Dystrophy Association).  No public restrooms were available within the shop.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I had a hard time paying attention to the employees for two reasons:  1)  I was struggling to keep my attention on my Soldier's letter because I was so interested in the outside foot traffic and 2) the lines never really died down enough for me to get a good view of the employees.

INTERESTING/HELPFUL WEB-SITES: 

http://www.mdausa.org/

http://www.soldiersangels.org/

http://www.starbucks.com/

http://www.cityftmyers.com/

Starbucks - Cleveland Heights, Ohio



Rockefeller Center Building
Built 1930 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

This has to be one of the most interesting buildings to house a Starbucks Coffee.  At least I can say that I have never been in a Starbucks located in a more beautiful building.  Well that is if you leave out the Forbidden City Starbucks in China, which no longer exisit.  I just love the outside of this building.  You can just see the Starbucks logo and the green window awnings.  I had walked over to the shop after spending an hour or so on the ice at the Cleveland Heights Recreational Center just a block away.  It was such a cold day, my hands were freezing by the time I reached the shop and was certainly looking forward to my hot green tea.  Before I entered, I noticed that the windows of this Starbucks were not for the customers to use to gaze upon the foot and auto traffic, but for the foot traffic to gaze upon the art of local school children.  Very interesting and different.

Once settled into the purple, yes, purple over-stuffed chair, I used my the heat coming off my Venti Tazo China Green Tips tea to warm my hands.  Something about sitting in a royal purple chair just made me feel happy.  After a quick warm up, I started my soldier's letter.  While writing, I noticed a mural on the wall that featured the face of Michael Jordan.  Now, I've never seen a mural in any Starbucks Coffee or any pictures  that feature sports stars or celebrities.  My curiousity getting the better of me, I sought out one of the employees hoping to solve the mystery.  I was told that at one time Michael Jordan and Starbucks had worked together to promote urban coffee houses, which was also the reason for the display of children's art in the front windows.  However, Jordan and Starbucks no longer are working together.

COMFORT COMMENTS:  How could you not enjoy PURPLE over-stuffed chairs?  This shop is small with limited "comfy" seating.  There were at least four tables with chairs, which were never all occupied at one time.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  The shop was clean.  Employees cleaned the condiments during my visit.  The uni-sex bathroom was clean with working soap dispenser.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  The employees were always busy.  At one point one of the employees was singing with the music, which I enjoyed.   Singing employee - a happy employee,  happy employee - happy shop, happy shop - happy customers!

STARBUCKS SINGLE OF THE WEEK:  "Where Not to Look for Freedom" - The Belle Brigade