NEW YORK — Starbucks is experimenting with a new store concept in New York City that streamlines the ordering process so you’re able to get that cup of coffee even faster than usual.
The company says it aims to have everyone in and out within two minutes. I was pretty impressed when I was able to do it in three minutes and five seconds, but the workers there told me that was a pretty disappointing performance for them.
Usually, I’m told, they’re able to deliver a steaming cup of coffee within 1 minute.
The trick is to streamline everything. It’s only a 538-square-foot storefront and the baristas move with more efficiency and urgency than usual. During peak hours up to nine workers cram into the space, I’m told. The entire restaurant was designed for speed, even to the point where Starbucks removed its typical plush chairs and lowered the counters so you can more easily talk to the baristas.
It works kind of like a drive-through restaurant. There’s one employee at a register by the door where you place your order. The baristas then start making your drink while you pay at a second register. By the time you finish there, your drink is ready at the end of the bar.
The store, which Starbucks is calling its “espresso shot” pilot concept, first opened a few months ago. It sits on a crowded street directly across from the New York Stock Exchange.
It wasn’t running the extra register by the door when I visited, but they still moved through the line surprisingly fast. I took a GoPro along for the ride, so you can relive every heart-pounding second right along with me.
To keep things scientific, I visited a traditional Starbucks down the street as soon as I finished at the concept store. That location was equally busy, but it took six minutes and 51 seconds to get out the door.
Trimming four minutes may not seem like a lot, but Starbucks is betting that could be the difference between getting that daily customer on their way into work in the morning and missing out.
This isn’t the company’s first attempt at streamlining the process. It has now rolled out its mobile order ahead feature across the country and in the UK, and others will soon be experimenting with coffee delivery.
The espresso shot store I visited is one-of-a-kind for now. Starbucks is calling it a “pilot,” so there’s a chance we’ll see more someday soon. Let’s just hope the next one is less than 2,000 miles away from my home in Seattle.
