Empire State Building To House Three Starbucks Concepts
By Lauren Elkies Schram May 20, 2015 9:00 am
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Starbucks Coffee will be bringing a third concept to the Empire State Building, making it the only building in New York City with three distinct Starbucks spaces, Commercial Observer has learned.
The coffee giant took about 600 square feet for an express store, which will be on the West 33rd Street side of the building at 350 Fifth Avenue. It will offer a limited menu and no seating. The building already has a 7,500-square-foot multi-level traditional Starbucks on the West 34th Street side. And as CO previously reported, Starbucks signed a lease for around 600 square feet for a delivery concept. It will be inside the Empire State Building with no branding, a source with knowledge of the deal said. The express and delivery spaces are expected to open by the fall.
Starbucks recently opened its first-ever express format store in 538 square feet on the ground floor at 14 Wall Street as part of a pilot project.
“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,” Bill Sleeth, Starbucks’ vice president for store design, said in a press release. “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.”
The express stores employ a greeter who takes orders with a handheld device and a New York-tailored rotating digital menu.
Starbucks plans to open two other express format stores in New York City this year, the company indicates on its website.
