Starbucks Opening Upscale Roastery In Seattle, Testing “Express” Stores In NYC

While there already seems to be a Starbucks on every corner, apparently the company thinks there’s always room for a few more. The coffee slingers announced today that it’s opening a new upscale roastery offering only its Starbucks Reserve line of coffee in Seattle, along with an express mini-store in New York City.

Starbucks is facing competition on every front, with fancier options like Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Blue Bottle Coffee offering craft javas, while fast food chains are nudging their products onto supermarket shelves and pushing their cheaper coffee products.

The 15,000-square-foot small-batch reserve roastery — which to be honest, sounds something like a craft distillery or brewery — will open in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in December, Starbucks said in a press release, and will feature a store, tasting room and cafe for its reserve coffees.

From there, it’s aiming to own at least 100 more of those cafes around the world in the next five years.

“Everything we have created and learned about coffee has led us to this moment. The Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting room is a multi-sensory experience that will transform the future of specialty coffee,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Starbucks. “We plan to take this super premium experience to cities around the world, elevating the Starbucks experience not only through these stores but across our entire business.”

See? Fancy.

The first express store will be tested in Manhattan in 2015, and will be basically micro stores with only a few food and beverage options. Those stores will use digital payment and mobile ordering to speed customers through the line.

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