Seattle Starbucks Count
Let’s see how many I can spot in a 12 hour period.
(All times local)
4.54pm – At airport. I don’t see any. Most disappointing. Total = 0
6.14pm – Taxi to hotel. Pass two! Must go back to take photos. Total = 2
7.23pm – Am at the Space Needle. The coffee bar at the top is the ‘Sky Cafe’ and is NOT serving Starbucks coffee. Again, more disappointment. Total = 2
7.54pm – Found one! Exiting the Seattle Monorail and walking down Pine Street towards the market. Total = 3
8.01pm – Woooah! Check it out … it’s the mecca of all Starbucks. It’s the original store by the market at Pike Place with the original wooden counters. And interesting, they only do coffee, and no food items. There is a little ‘history’ corner of the company with photos and literature, and I take two minutes read the book on the counter about the history of their expansion over the years. I try to recall the first time I had a Starby’s in England, I think it was in 2001.
8.19pm – I go and sit in Victor Steinbrueck park drinking my latte and watching the sunset. A sign advertising the lunchtime music festival taking place all this month is sponsored by Starbucks.
8.32pm – It’s getting dark now, and all the SBUXS I find now are closed. I find four in quick succession, within 250 metres and 60 seconds walk of each other – all centered around Union Street and 2nd Avenue area. Total = 8
8.43pm – There are a lot of homeless people begging on the streets of Seattle. I’ve just passed one that’s using an empty Starbucks cup to ask for change.
8.57pm – I think I’ve found one more up on 5th avenue, before realising that it’s one of the ones that I saw from the taxi earlier on the way in. But then, across the street from it around the corner and within direct line of sight I see one that I definitely did not see earlier! Taking my total to 9 for the night. At which point I call it a day.
Seattle has bendy buses like London. And trams like Amsterdam. The airport also smells of cinnamon which doesn’t remind me of any other city that I’ve been to before.
More Starbucks based reading (For the pure JavaHeads)
• Maximum Starbucks Density – There are 43 in a 5 mile radius in New York
• How many Starbucks is too many? Discuss!
• Starbucks inside of Starbucks – Would they go that far?
• Say NO to Starbucks – A Minnesota town resists
• The End of The Universe Starbucks style
After living in London for the first 33 years of my life and working for the 
So for ten weeks in June, July and August 2009, I drove 20,000 miles around the the lower 48 contiguous states of the USA visiting towns and places that shared the same name as places on The London
Oh, I’m in Seattle, btw. (In case you’re severely challenged when working out the clue from the post title).
Post will be updated as I see ‘em!
All this – incidentally – is gearing up towards a ‘fastest tour through the Charleston Starbucks’ (of which there are 13), video tour …
There are 3 StarBucks on the walk between my office and the tube station 400 yards away.
and 2 Prets as well
So will you be doing a ‘Starbucks Challenge’ and setting a record?
There’s also this opinion on Starbucks’ expansion: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29030
Now go to Toronto and count Tim Hortons.
Remember to take a 12 digit calculator.
I hope you thought to buy a Starbucks mug at the ORIGINAL site. Sure, they can be found almost anywhere but YOURS would be from store #1. McMecca.
uh oh…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/around_the_olympics_in_800_min.html
It seems that I am 16.64 miles away from my nearest Starbucks, but only 2.39 miles away from my nearest brewery. I am also only 13.69 miles away from the nearest pie factory. I’m not sure what this says about me, but I can send directions if anybody want to move here.
You were drinking Starbucks before 2001. I remember when I was working at TVC and I’d meet you at Broadcasting House and we’d go for a coffee at the Starbucks in Langham Street. I left the UK in Dec 2000 and we were drinking Starbucks before then I’m sure. There must be something recorded somewhere of when they opened.
You have got to do pike place market… The fish throwing is cool.
i *did* go to pike place market! evidence…
Try Vancouver, the amount of Starbucks there are just mind boggling. On one corner of Robson Street theres two facing each other diagonally at a junction.
Oh and try their blended lemonades
latte
Goes to wordie.org.
Adds it to “Words I Rather Dislike” list. http://wordie.org/lists/15799
Geoff, I am afraid I must reluctantly swear to beat you around the head with a frozen Iced Coffee if you ever use this word again. You have been warned!