Talk about a morning buzz.
Recession-hit Starbucks is going from being a coffee bar to a real bar under a new plan to add beer and wine to its menu of coffee and tea.
People will soon be able to order a venti beer as the struggling Seattle-based coffeehouse chain hopes to add new drinkers to its ranks, USA Today reported today.
The chain will add wine and beer to the menu at one of its Seattle stores, which it has even given a new name.
The store, which opens next week, will be called “15th Ave. Coffee and Tea inspired by Starbucks.”
The company plans to create two more similar stores in the Seattle-area at locations that aren’t currently Starbucks stores.
If the concept catches on, selling coffee and beer could be tested in other cities, Major Cohen, senior project manager at Starbucks, told USA Today.
Cohen said he didn’t yet know if the concept would be incorporated into all Starbucks stores if it’s successful.
Under the pilot-program, the store will serve a half-dozen kinds of beers and wines. A bottle of beer or a glass of wine will sell for $4 to $7.
“We’ll be equally as proud of our beer and wine as we are of our coffee,” said Cohen.