The venti-sized storm caused a latte trouble for Starbucks junkies after the chain ordered a near-total shutdown — but a rogue open store in Midtown yesterday fueled up hordes of caffeine-starved New Yorkers.
Fans walked and took Town Cars to the Starbucks adjacent to the Marriott Marquis off Times Square, as word spread via social media that it was open.
“I saw on Facebook that they were open,” said Bethany Owings, 28, who walked 10 blocks from Hell’s Kitchen with daughter Ava Ferrier, 1 1/2, for a fix.
Her friend Chris Hernandez, 29, came along.
“When she said they were open, I was like, ‘Pack the baby up. Let’s go!’ ” the triple-espresso fan said. “There’s nothing else we would’ve gone out for. This makes the day complete.”
They were part of a daylong stream of customers that packed the store, standing shoulder to shoulder and waiting at least 10 minutes to order.
Owings and Hernandez said they were the last people served at a 53rd Street Starbucks Monday afternoon, shortly after Starbucks told its operators to send employees home and keep stores closed ahead of Sandy.
Starbucks officials asked East Coast stores to close as early as 2 p.m. yesterday, citing safety.
“I didn’t know they were all going to close. I started panicking,” Hernandez said with a chuckle.
“It was scary not having Starbucks,” said Owings, who orders tea, not coffee.
Alessandra Lentini, 44, visiting from LA, said she and pals “came running” when they heard the store was open.
Upper West Sider Theresa Lowrey had a driver deliver her to the store after a pal told her it was open.
And Starbucks “gold card” holder Alex Mwangi, 25, walked more than 20 blocks looking for an open one.
“It took half an hour,” he said. “But I’m a Starbucks fanatic. I go four or five times a day. I like the way they make their coffee and the way they present it to you. Elsewhere is standard, regular coffee.”
David Low, 25, said he went to three closed Starbucks before learning the store was serving.
“I’m really happy these guys are open. I can’t get a pumpkin spice latte anywhere else,” he said. “The 10-minute wait was worth it.”
“There’s nothing else I would have gone out for — except beer.”
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Starbucks had 1,000 stores closed from Virginia to Maine, a spokeswoman said. Individual stores were being allowed to remain open on “a case-by-case basis,” she said.