Starbucks's retro coffee houses to serve spirits

The Seattle-based Starbucks is testing out a new concept in its hometown: coffeehouses that also serve beer and wine and host live music and book and poetry readings.

The idea is to get back into history and capture the essesnce of a local coffeehouse before Starbucks came into existence.

These retro cafes will also drop the Starbucks name completely. No logo. No sign. Just a neighbourhood-inspired name that will appear also on bags of Starbucks coffee sold at the stores, though the bags will reportedly contain the same coffee as traditional Starbucks.
 
Starbucks' first 'Fifteenth Avenue Coffee and Tea' (the name given to the new  cafes) will open next week.

While coffee shop as night-time hangout isn't new, Starbucks is striving to offer more by way of community involvement, environmental commitment and friendly baristas.

The café concept dates back about 15 years. In February, Starbucks began testing Via, an instant-coffee product, which it says was more than 20 years in the making.

This idea came from thinking about the "good old days" when they could roast coffee in the morning and have it in a local store by that afternoon. The first three cafés will be in Seattle, near one of its roasting plants, so they'll be able to offer smaller-batch coffees from far-flung locales such as Thailand, and loose-leaf Tazo teas from places such as India and Japan.

Starbucks has been known for its real-estate savvy since day one, but locations generally go dormant after dark. Adding an evening occasion is likely to boost profitability for appropriate locations, particularly if they serve alcohol, Starbucks says.