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“In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening one new store per day. Green mermaid logos popped up on retail facades everywhere, sometimes within feet of one another, making the sameness from store to store all the more noticeable. But it’s not the ’90s anymore, and when Starbucks stock began dropping in 2007, the Seattle-based company realized, among other things, that the cookie-cutter approach to store design had fallen out of fashion. Last year, Starbucks announced it would renovate its thousands of company-owned stores, in 52 countries, to be more sustainable and to look, well, less global and more local.

In several Seattle neighborhoods, Starbucks’s design team — led by the company’s president of global development, Arthur Rubinfeld — has introduced the first of its revamped stores, testing concepts it will apply to locations around the world. If these stores offer any glimpse of what’s to come, the new Starbucks will be subtler, earthier and conscious of its surroundings.” [1]

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[3L/3R]

“In neighborhoods teeming with hipsters, how does a Starbucks fit in when residents regard its opening as a sign that their neighborhood is turning yuppie? In this case, it starts by losing the Starbucks sign. 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea’s lack of obvious branding, aside from the curious “Inspired by Starbucks” on the facade, might lead passers-by to think that this is just another locally owned coffeehouse. Submerging the brand illustrates Rubinfeld’s experimental approach, but this otherwise excellent coffeehouse does offer a valuable lesson: No matter how quirky the neighborhood, Starbucks should not hide the fact that it’s still Starbucks. Otherwise, it feels like corporate trickery. With its variety of seating — from cupping tables to repurposed theater chairs — and pages of Plato lining the walls, the place lacks the consistency of the classic Starbucks experience. However, the espresso bar and ordering counter are Starbucks at its best — a warm blend of European mercantile and American modern that Rubinfeld has carried out in other locations (albeit with greater success). Likewise, the use of repurposed hardwoods and open-air displays of whole-bean coffees and full-leaf teas near the entry are fine examples of how sustainable materials reinforce the organic nature of the Starbucks product.” [1]

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“Linda Derschang, owner of Smith, emailed earlier this morning to say that her blood is boiling about the faux-new faux-neighborhoody neighbor next door.

‘Have you seen the color of the new Starbucks on 15th? Noticed the salvaged wood wall outside which is the same as my salvaged wood planter box in front of Smith? Poke your head in and check out the salvaged wood frames on the walls, the vintage industrial light fixtures, and the old wooden seats. A friend asked me yesterday if I was opening a coffee shop next to Smith because it looked so similar—like a sister business. I was in there yesterday to see it. I asked the designer if she had ever been to Oddfellows [also by Derschang], and she said ‘Yes, of course.’ They have been in Smith almost daily. I can’t believe that anyone, whether a hair salon or a coffee chain, would just go ahead and knock off their next door neighbor’s exterior… We’ll see what the rest of the design looks like as they get ready to open next week.’ [2]

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“If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped.

Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.

‘It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. ‘If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?’

The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead.

‘We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,’ Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. ‘Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.’

But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Oddfellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.” [3]

IMAGES [1] AND [2] OF 15TH AVE. COFFEE AND ROY STREET COFFEE, RESPECTIVELY, AS TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE; IMAGES [3L], [3R], [4] AND [5] OF ODDFELLOWS, SOURCED NUMERICALLY; IMAGE [6] OF SMITH SEATTLE, VIA SMITHSEATTLE.COM; TEXT [1] TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE, AS WRITTEN BY BRIAN JAMES BARR; TEXT [2] VIA THE SLOG, JULY 16, 2009; TEXT [3] BY SARA KIESLER FOR SEATTLE PI, JULY 20, 2009