Would you buy alcoholic beverages at Starbucks?

[Alpiner]

I think this is bizarre, of course I do not drink. But I guess people will buy it -- probably at incredibly inflated prices.

http://local.sandiego.com/news/starbucks-to-begin-offering-alcoholic-beverages

[ScottE]

I don't think it's "bizarre." They already offer a place to come in, sit-down, connect to wi-fi and have a cup of (albeit sub-standard according to some*) coffee. Why not try to appeal to the friends of those having coffee that don't particularly like SB coffee, or don't want to drink coffee in the evening at all?

They're trying to expand their customer profile from, "Those who drink coffee in the evening," to "Those who drink something in the evening." A place to come hang-out and have something to drink. Not a bar. Not a restaurant. Not just a coffee house. A little of all of that. It could work. Now, if they would just get some trivia going ... hmmm.

I would be surprised if they charge more than a bar would for beer & wine.


* - You know who you are.

[Alpiner]

But will they sell it at their drive-thru? 

[CC]

I think people will buy it, but generally prefer their booze in a loud room with several TVs playing some sort of sport.  We'll see.

Similar to *, I would like to see some improvement in the quality of the coffee.  Oh Intelligentsia, where art thou?  Thank goodness for the Undergrounds.  But I don't see them shilling liquor anytime soon and I prefer the zombie hordes to stay at Starbucks.

[Mike]

* here,

As a lifelong teetotaler and Starbucks opponent, I'm not really qualified to weigh in here, but FWIW, I've heard worse ideas.

When executed correctly, a coffeehouse is a venue like none other and it's a shame it's limited to coffee. If I did drink, I think I'd prefer a coffee house-like atmosphere over a bar. Plus, a lot of people can't drink coffee later in the day. (thankfully, that's not a problem I share).

Maybe about 10% of Starbucks are really nice spaces. Most locations have an in-and-out kind of setup that encourages to-go orders or really quick visits. Probably not such a good idea for selling booze. Wait and see, I suppose.

As a coffee lover and someone who every once in a while is nearly compelled to get something at *$, I wish they'd focus on improving their core offering. They've played with some concepts that feel more like a late 2000s house than their early 90s template, but it hasn't taken off. But I will say, their new blonde roast drip coffee, when made fresh and sipped before it cools, is passable – which is much more than I can say for any other drip coffee of theirs.

Starbucks markup on drinks is already bar-like, if not less. Comparing apples-to-apples, their prices are usually in line with the so-called everyman places like Dunkin' Donuts.

(in the interests of science, I had some Dunkin' earlier this week. Bleh.)

[CC]

The trick to Dunkin Donuts is ordering it "regular" which loads a bunch of sugar and cream to mask the coffee.

[Mike]

The trick to Dunkin Donuts is ordering it "regular" which loads a bunch of sugar and cream to mask the coffee.

Indeed I did. Coffee is always black for me, however insipid, but I thought that I ought to have it as it's known to its customers. I'm told it's very difficult to get DD to serve coffee black. Say nothing and you get cream & sugar. Say black and you're bound to get one or both most times, especially when it's busy.

Bleh isn't the right word, since it was masked so much. More like ugh. Maybe meh. The donuts on the other hand? Maybe the worst I've ever had. I remember them fondly as a kid, but these days their made in some factory and delivered frozen to the shops, where they throw them in the oven. I knew that was the case in the newer stores, but this one had been around since I was a kid. They also got rid of the old counter to make way for a line queue. What a shame.

[Local Democrat]

I worked at a Dunkin Donuts (in Glendale, Az) when I was fresh out of high school.  I worked the graveyard shift and the donuts that our 2 bakers there made were amazing.  The coffee back then was Farmer Brothers (I think) and it was also great.  We were packed from about 11 pm til 4 am every night of the week.  I would go home smelling of deep fat fryer grease and sugar (from all the glazed donuts).  I used to take home a dozen warm buttermilk glazed donuts for my siblings almost every morning :-)

LD