'Esquire' Reviews That Starbucks With Booze
Allecia Vermillion at Esquire.com:
Even in caffeine-addled Seattle, Starbucks has trouble luring people in during the evenings. (Something about a caramel macchiato just doesn't sound appetizing come dinnertime.) So it's hard to blame the coffee giant for testing out its latest innovation here -- selling booze. For the past two weeks, the Olive Way location has been offering beer and wine alongside its regular menu after 4 p.m., as part of a pilot project that could go national if it's successful. The renovation, which reportedly cost $552,000, has generated significant attention both inside and outside the city, not least of all because it could mean the first mass-market bar-cafe of its kind in the U.S. And I have to say, after first stepping in to see what all the fuss was about, I was impressed by what I saw.Read the whole story





First Posted: 11/02/10 01:02 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:10 PM ET