Reaffirming its standing as the king of coffeehouses, Starbucks has opened its first-ever Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room megastore in Seattle.
At 15,000-square-feet, the massive homage to all things coffee is a grand departure from the typical small neighborhood Starbucks, but a distinct return to the chain’s bean-based roots.
Featuring what some are calling part-theater, part-coffee and part-buzz, the store not only serves high-quality Arabica coffees in single varieties it also roasts them onsite. The production is part of the experience at the new higher-end Starbucks model, which also features an educational coffee library and a Coffee Experience Bar.
“This is the theater of coffee,” Liz Muller, creative vice president of global design, explained. “We wanted to create a space to reinvent retail for the 21st century.”
Visitors to the new megastore can watch as coffee is roasted, bagged and prepared for shipping to points across the globe. They can also explore an extensive retail space while dining on a Starbucks’ menu, which has a gourmet flavor in this new location.
Seattle chef Tom Douglas partnered with Starbucks to create the menu while also opening Serious Pie pizza within the Roastery. It offers cocktails, beer, wine and food.
As the flagship of the Starbucks Reserve coffee brand, the new concept is anticipated to expand to other locations around the world. Next up is a site in Asia in 2016.
In the meantime, the Reserve Roastery is hoped to enable Starbucks to expand its Reserve coffee line, which is currently available at 1,500 locations globally.
The Roastery’s grand concept is hoped to not only celebrate craft coffee, but also boost the coffee giant’s bottom line. With a modest 5% sales gain for the fourth fiscal quarter, the chain is looking to re-energize its profits that once bowled over investors with double-digit, same-store sales increases.
The Roastery’s launch coincides with the first-ever platform for mobile ordering and payment. This new service has started near Portland, Ore. and is expected to expand nationally in 2015.
Starbucks also has a plan to provide delivery in some markets. The aim for the next five years is to boost food revenue in the U.S. to more than $5 billion, a move being bolstered by expanding beer and wine sales in some stores.
Whether the grand gesture will redefine Starbucks on a global scale remains to be seen, but the chain’s shares closed at a record high of $83.57 on the day the Roastery opened. This is more than a 6% gain for the year.
