Results tagged “starbucks”

Starbucks has just introduced "Via Ready Brew," their $1 instant coffee packet, and according to CEO Howard Schultz, "It took a lot of courage to say that even though instant coffee is the worst cup of coffee you can have, we are going to reinvent it." Only time will tell whether Schultz's courage is actually madness, but the instant reaction hasn't been too favorable. Though the company insists Via "completely replicates" a fresh-brewed cup, many customers have been blanched. One tells the Daily News simply, "It's bad," while another observed, "You can get a cup of coffee for $1 on every corner of New York City that tastes better than this. Maybe it's a product for people in other cities. I don't see it selling here."

On Tuesday evening, Suffolk County police were called to a home in North Babylon because an explosion occurred in the basement. A 17-year-old was injured and, after hours on the scene, police later said that an "improvised explosive device" had been set off. Now, as cops continue to investigate the incident, it's reported that the North Babylon High School student had photographs of the Columbine massacre and killers on his bedroom door.

Your tax dollars have enabled the Health Department to conclude a groundbreaking study on the calorie counts of beverages at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. And what they found might shock you: Calories in blended coffee beverages are high. The report is the prelude to another study due out next spring, which is expected to show if New Yorkers were affected by rules requiring chains like Starbucks to display calorie counts. Back in 2007, the average customer consumed 12% of a 2,000-calorie a day diet on beverages alone.

You might want to trade in that half-caf soy blended latte for a regular cup of coffee. For the first time in the coffee giant's history, Starbucks will be slashing prices. A "tall" coffee will cost $1.50, down from $1.75, and most cappuccino and latte concoctions will get a 10 to 15 cent discount. However, not all Starbucks addicts are celebrating. The more complex drinks, like the addicting Frappuccino, will be up to 25 cents more expensive. Maybe that's what's going to pay for all their new locations in NYC. One anonymous commenter pointed out on Starbucks Gossip that these price drops still leave the drinks more expensive than they were just four months ago, predicting "Customers are going to like the decrease I guess (although not back to original prices on some beverages) but they are going to be left extremely confused and upset that for 4 months they had to pay all that extra." Whatever, everyone knows America runs on Dunkin Tim Horton's.

Kyle Shaw, the 17-year-old suspected of setting off a crude explosive outside an Upper East Side Starbucks in May, made bail yesterday. The AP reports that the teen Fight Club enthusiast "was released on $300,000 bail last week after being arrested on charges of arson, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief... Defense lawyer Adam Perlmutter suggested the electronic bracelet, and the judge said OK. Perlmutter said the monitoring device would be affixed before Shaw left the courthouse Monday." Shaw's peers have been discussing his future on Facebook, especially after Shaw appeared in court with a black eye, apparently courtesy a fellow Rikers inmate. Runnin' Scared noticed reactions like "omg this makes me so sad, i feel bad for him" and "You guys are worrying too much, knowing Kyle he's probably loving this."

Kyle Shaw, the 17-year-old who was apparently so inspired by Fight Club that he allegedly bombed a Starbucks in May, appeared at his bail hearing today—with a bruise near his left eye! The Post reports, "Shaw got the shiner while at Rikers Island this week after another inmate punched him," and the Daily News explains, "Before he socked him, the jailbird asked if [Shaw] was part of the lockup's own fight club - brawls organized by correction officers under the rubric 'The Program,' a source said." We wonder if Shaw's affection for the film (and book) is fading. Prosecutor Chris Ryan asked that Shaw remained in custody, because he was taped saying he wanted to plant another bomb before he headed off to Outward Bound this summer—"I'm going to ... camp. I think I need to do one more before I go." However, the judge allowed Shaw to head home for the weekend before he makes a decision on Monday. Ryan complained to the News, "I can't imagine that any New Yorker believes that someone who sets off a bomb ought to go anywhere but jail."

Little alleged anarchist Kyle Shaw, who was arrested yesterday for bombing an Upper East SIde Starbucks in May, is being held on $100,000 cash bail or $300,000 bond. According to the Daily News, the 17-year-old's father "said the high bail was just a way to keep his son in jail" but prosecutors point out someone could have been injured by the crude bomb, though no one was. Shaw's friends tipped off the cops, worried that he would strike again. A teen neighbor of Shaw's told the News that Shaw pulled a hunting knife on him and claimed responsibility for the bomb, "I didn't believe him. He was always bragging," and added that Shaw bought sunglasses similar to the ones Brad Pitt wore as Tyler Durden in Fight Club off eBay. Another friend and former classmate told the Times, "I would never paint him in that way, as a domestic terrorist or anything. He never gave an inkling that he was into that. He is very funny. Very outgoing. Friendly with mostly everybody," but admitted that Shaw really loved Fight Club: "He saw the movie and he read the book. He wanted to watch the movie in our English class in the 11th grade. We were discussing existentialism in class, and he suggested we watch the movie as an example. We ended up watching ‘I Heart Huckabees.'"

Updated: Police have arrested 17-year-old Kyle Shaw in the May 25 incident where a crude bomb was set off in front of the Starbucks at Third Avenue and 92nd Street. And what's more, it turns out that Shaw was trying to emulate the film Fight Club—in particular, Tyler Durden. This is so not What Would Tyler Durden Do but it is what Gothamist commenter Rocknrope guessed on May 25 with his comment: "Project Mayhem."

Pat Kiernan will be very happy: The Riese organization, operators of scores of NYC chain restaurants, is closing its 13 Dunkin' Donuts outlets on Friday and re-opening them as brand-new Tim Hortons on Monday morning. The Nation's Restaurant News' story suggests someone's maple leaf prophecy has come to pass. After being dropped from Riese's roster, Dunkin' released a statement yesterday that alleged, among other things, they're still awesome and "in the past five years 244 new Dunkin’ Donuts shops have opened in New York City." The company also explained that a 2004 lawsuit citing "health and safety violations" led to the "disenfranchisement" decision; Riese denies it and says a five-year contract expired. With Dunkin' dissed and Starbucks plugging away at yet another reformulation, expect an onslaught of free coffee promotions in the next few weeks from all sides, especially around Midtown. The announcement comes on top of previous news that Tim Hortons will open three more locations to be co-branded with Cold Stone Creamery in August, including one inside Cold Stone's flagship Times Square store. Tim Hortons is a megapopular Canadian coffee and snacks chain named for its founder, an NHL record-holder who died in a 1974 car accident.

Starting next month, Starbucks has announced that in addition to grinding beans to order for each brewed pot of coffee it'll also brew coffee more frequently: The magic will happen every 24 minutes, down from the previous 30. And in a bid for health-related transparency, the coffee chain will eliminate artificial colors, fats, and high fructose corn syrup from its menus entirely, along with some preservatives. This will change the taste of some Starbucks mixed drinks, and "will affect about 90 percent of the baked goods" (don't worry—Starbucks has new baked goods on the way!). Fruity drink chain Jamba Juice is also feeling the corn syrup squeeze: Besides pushing a new menu consisting largely of sandwiches, wraps, and baked goods, the chain is beginning to take the HFCS away from its locations. It's already happening in California, and the change will go into effect nationwide within the year, reports Nation's Restaurant News. High fructose corn syrup is thought to be the phantom menace of the modern diet, the proverbial second gunman on the grassy knoll of obesity and heart disease.

Hey, just because the bomb that was set off outside an Upper East Side Starbucks on Monday morning was homemade—"fashioned from a water bottle and the same explosive powder used in fireworks," the Daily News reports—doesn't mean it wasn't a threat to the public. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said,"Had someone been walking by, this could have caused serious injury, if not death." The police also revealed that a "metal bottle cap inscribed with the capital letters VET that was found amid the bomb remnants"— investigators are looking at whether "there's a manufacturer that makes metal bottle caps that contain those letters"—and that the two teens seen fleeing from the scene that morning are described as blond teen in a red shirt and a brown-haired teen in a gray shirt. John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Eugene O'Donnell tells WCBS 2, "Bombings are not easy to solve, sometimes because the forensic evidence is so deteriorated."

The Post reports that investigators doubt Monday's explosion outside an Upper East Side Starbucks is related to the bombings outside the British and Mexican Consulates as well as the Times Square recruiting station. Apparently the "make-up of the bomb -- flash powder stuffed inside a jumbo pill jar -- was not similar to the ones used for the earlier bombings," and the description of the teens seen fleeing the area doesn't match the others bombings' lone bicyclist. The Post adds police are investigating whether the incident is linked to a small explosion at a Starbucks in Providence, RI, but the Seattle coffee company sent us a statement, "We are confident that these two explosions were not linked. Further, though the investigation continues, we actually have no reason to believe that Starbucks specifically was a target for this incident." (Apparently there had been a series of small explosions in plastic bottles in different parts of Providence last year.)

Police are continuing to investigate the low-grade explosive that detonated outside a Starbucks on the Upper East Side early yesterday morning. Authorities do not think the bomb is the work of terrorists and one resident of the Third Avenue at 92nd Street building, Issan Hage, told 1010 WINS, "I looked out the window and saw two kids running away. I believe it's just kids pissed off at Starbucks for selling coffee for $2."

Earlier this morning, around 3:30 a.m., an explosion was reported outside of a building at Third Avenue and 92nd Street. The NYPD is conducting an investigation; according to WCBS 2, "Officials tell CBS 2HD it wasn't a bomb that went off, but an improvised explosive device. The device was planted on a bench outside the Starbucks."

One longtime Starbucks in Astor Place (well, one of them—the one with a garden on the corner of Third and Astor) is closing tomorrow night. While the eulogies are pouring in from in the comments sections (Eater is even assembling an “insta oral history” of the location in order to virtually bronze all the macchiato memories), no one seems to be sure what will happen to the building tomorrow after the last pitcher of milk is steamed. Some say the Starbucks, which has at least three other perfectly viable locations within a short walking distance, is simply "being moved, and the building re-purposed.” Others are declaring a belated victory for Reverend Billy. Others still are saying that, as promised, Stumptown Coffee’s Duane Sorenson “has come to save you (and the rest of New York) from inferior house brew,” and may be thinking of setting up shop in the location. Okay, so that’s just wishful thinking. For many, the Astor Place Starbucks (on the corner of Third Avenue, not the other one) was the scene for many double tall rites of passage-y precious moments, and will always be remembered for its always shorter bathroom line.

New Paltz police are looking for a man who planted a spy camera on the floor of a Starbucks unisex bathroom. They have a great description of him—according to WCBS 2, he's "6-feet tall, 35 to 40 years of age, dark hair, bearded, with a mustache, horn rimmed glasses and a ponytail halfway down his back"—because he while installing the camera. Lieutenant Steve Osarczuk, who explained the spycam was planted "to capture people in a private moment of a sexual nature," enjoyed the irony, "I think its absolutely beautiful. The footage that he wanted to get to hurt somebody else is now in our hands and we can use it to hurt him." A Starbucks employee found the small object on the floor and New Paltz Police say the suspect probably set it up before.

Someone’s wind-chill related prayers have been answered, and now it has come to pass: through the end of March, hand over one dollar to the Jamba Juice folks, and in return they’ll hand you some hot, steel-cut oatmeal that comes with brown sugar and choice of fruit on top. The cheap breakfast is just one of the many current promotional deals riding the coattails of the economic stimulus nomenclature. In exchange for oatmeal, Jamba Juice requires you to conspire with tree-killers to get their oatmeal deal by printing out a coupon. In the meantime, in an effort just to get customers through the front door, earlier today Starbucks delivered on its promise to introduce a new “value meal” consisting of coffee and an egg sandwich, with oatmeal or coffee cake, all for a low-priced $3.95.

About a dozen current and former Starbucks employees protested outside the Union Square Starbucks last night, demanding that management reinstate fired barista Sharon Bell. Managers say they terminated Bell last week because of tardiness and attendance issues, but she says its actually retaliation for her involvement in the Starbucks Workers Union. Two other fellow union members were also fired recently, though one was reinstated. In December, a National Labor Relations Board judge found the company guilty of union busting and ordered several employees reinstated with back wages. According to the Seattle PI, the court documents read "like a reality-TV script, revealing Starbucks baristas and managers yelling at each other, mishandling blenders and cursing." One incident at the East 9th Street Starbucks almost came to blows, with a barista telling a manager, "You can go f*** yourself, if you want to f*** me up, go ahead, I'm here."

In March, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will wipe the flop sweat off his brow and try to forestall doom by jumping on the value-meal bandwagon. He's is also firing back at a billboard put up by McDonald's in Seattle which reads, "Four bucks is dumb," referring to Starbucks's reputation as the home of the $4 cup of coffee. Baristas will now be doing double duty as brewers of corporate propaganda, instructed to inform customers that the average price of a Starbucks beverage is less than $3, and that 90% of Starbucks drinks cost under $4.

A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled yesterday that Starbucks engaged in unfair labor practices at several of its New York coffee shops, the Associated Press reports. The decision is the culmination of a lengthy trial which began in March 2006 when the Industrial Workers of the World filed charges against the company, accusing managers of interrogating employees and firing workers who supported the union.

[UPDATE BELOW] A reader sent us this photo, taken by a friend, of a special edition Starbucks menorah cup, which supposedly contained the chain's "Hanukkah Blend." This individual claims he bought it at an unspecified location on the Upper West Side, where the barista told him "we're serving it at Starbucks in Jewish neighborhoods for the next two weeks."

Starting today at 10 a.m. Mario Batali and Starbucks be holding court in Times Square. They'll be set up at Military Island (the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets) handing out hot cups of (RED) coffee to any caffeine fiend who passes by. (RED) helps raise money to fight AIDS in Africa, and has just partnered with the coffee purveyor. If you don't find yourself in Times Square on Black Friday (consider yourself lucky), you can head to any 'bucks throughout the holiday season and a five cent donation will be made to (RED) with a purchase of a holiday drink. However, Food & Wine points out that at "approximately 10:30, you can have your picture taken in the (RED) photo booth to join the (RED) community, perhaps with one of Mario's helper elves, Helena Christensen and Mary Louise Parker."

To haters, Starbucks is just an evil corporate monolith that will one day enslave us all in dystopian venti labor camps. But to lovers, like 32-year-old lingerie designer Lenny Tawil, it's as romantic as a night at Niagara Falls. So yesterday he chose a Coney Island Starbucks to pop the question to his girlfriend, 23-year-old Cynthia Harari. The Daily News was on the scene, presumably at the prompting of manager Liz Fagundo, who must have impressed the suits in corporate with this one. Tawil knew his girlfriend drove through that Starbucks every day around noon; when she pulled up to order her daily foamy macchiato, the barista gave her an empty cup with a jewelry case in it. That's when Tawil emerged and asked her to marry him, and she said yes. As always, we turn to the Daily News commenters for perspective: "Awwww what a great story. It's so nice to start a morning off by hearing happy news instead of the depressing stories in the paper everyday!" That's you, isn't it Howard Schultz?

Head over to Starbucks all day today and tell them you voted. You’ll get a free tall brewed coffee. Using the slogan “It’s bigger than coffee,” it’s part of the chain’s plan to help the country get through today by giving away free coffee. In a perfect world, volunteers would ferry hot beverages from stores to people waiting on lines in the cold, but that would border on sponsorship, and everyone knows elections aren’t sponsored! Also, Ben & Jerry's hooks up voters with a free scoop at their Times Square location from 5-8 p.m. tonight. Bonus: With a final nod to the weird state of election-themed food promotions, which have admittedly been around since Franklin Pierce savored his first nacho sometime in the early nineteenth century, expect Zaro’s to be selling some very discounted cookies tomorrow morning.

The only Starbucks in Mineola is closing today, as part of the coffee company's restructuring plans. Newsday points out that it's been a fixture for the legal community, because it's across the street from the court house. Defense lawyer Anthony Grandinette said, "I've made more than a few deals over a double Frappuccino here," while Eric Phillips, spokesman for Nassau County DA and skim pumpkin latte fan, said, "This is a place where you might see a judge, both attorneys, a juror and the defendant all in the same line for a coffee. Like truth and justice, the system requires a little caffeine to work." Grandinette doesn't think Starbucks devotees are going to go to the Dunkin' Donuts down the street: "It's similar to being a Jets guy or a Giants guy. No Jets fan would be caught dead at a Giants game, and no true Starbucks man would be caught dead at a Dunkin' Donuts.

It seems to be a bank robbery boom time, but could robbers be targeting another ubiquitous and friendly retail operation? WNBC reports that two Starbucks locations in Manhattan were robbed in the past few weeks. The first robbery was at Broadway and West 98h Street on August 29 at 5:30 a.m., while the second was on Third Avenue at 41st around 8 p.m. this past Sunday. "In both cases, the men walked in, pulled out guns, tied up the employees who were in the store, and then hit the cash registers and safes, police said." Understandably, employees at the Third Avenue location didn't want to talk about the incident.

The Observer looks at "Roosevelt Island 2.0"--as in the new developments on the island. The big development Riverwalk "could bring 2,500 to 3,000 new residents to the Island" which translates to over a 25% increase in population since 2000. Roosevelt Island 360 blogger Eric Schwartzman has been documenting the addition of Riverwalk said of the chain stores finally arriving, "It very funny, where a lot of areas are like 'We already have too many Starbucks,' on the island, when that first came, people began to feel like, 'Hey, we're part of civilization!'" (Schwartzman took this photo of Riverwalk signage that touts the Starbucks and Duane Reade among others.)

A study by the Center for an Urban Future, called Attack of the Chains? is showing that Brooklyn prefers Dunkin' Donuts over Starbucks, the Daily News reports. The center's director Jonathan Bowles says, "It has to do with different shopping culture. The Dunkin' Donuts is more a middle-class type of place than Starbucks. Not everybody can afford $4 lattes. It’s more of a working person's Starbucks." The chain has 89 outlets in Brooklyn--71 more than Starbucks in the borough. Plus, chains like KFC and Payless thrive in Brooklyn--but will gentrification slowly replace those shops with Cosi's and J.Crew? The study also provides a borough-by-borough breakdown of what stores are in each borough (did you know NYC only has two Crate & Barrel's?).

Starting today and running through Labor Day, Starbucks will be helping customers succumbing to afternoon drowsiness with a special discount. After 2 p.m., anyone who produces a receipt from a previous Starbucks purchase that morning can buy any iced grande beverage for $2. (Drinks like their grande iced latte typically costs about $4.) The new discount is part of an aggressive attempt by the faltering coffee giant – which is closing hundreds of locations and recently posted a loss for the first time – to retain customers. But a commenter on Starbucks Gossip seems to reflect a growing consensus: “I don't know, this just all seems a little desperate to me.”

Others may sit passively by while New York City loses 10 of its precious 235 Starbucks, but Andrew El-Kadi, who lives above a doomed Starbucks in Bay Ridge, is making a stand. He’s turning up the heat on Starbucks by handing out flyers and starting an online petition to keep his downstairs Starbucks open, because "when you feel strongly about something, [it] doesn't have to be limited to starving children in Africa or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” According to the Daily News, El-Kadi has 16 signatures and counting – when he hits the 100 mark, he plans to send the petition to the chain’s district manager, who will then have no choice but to submit to the will of the people! If not, El-Kadi says, "I'm screwed. I guess I will just have to walk the nine blocks to the other one, but who wants to do that before work?"