A stealth Starbucks is a

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

that does not advertise the Starbucks

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. These stores are operated in

metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

to do

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Mark ...

on how customers react to experiments in coffee service and coffeehouse design.

Appearance

These stores do not exhibit the traditional icons of the Starbucks brand, including the siren logo, the green aprons for baristas, and the Starbucks-specific "tall, grande, venti" coffee size terminology. The door of the coffeehouse says, "Inspired by Starbucks".

Locations

The first Stealth Starbucks opened in 2009. In that year, at least three stores in Seattle were de-branded to remove the logo and brand name, and remodel the stores as local coffee houses "inspired by Starbucks." CEO

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basket ...

says the unbranded stores are a "laboratory for Starbucks". The first, 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, opened in July 2009 on Capitol Hill. It served wine and beer, and hosted live music and poetry readings. It was remodeled and reopened as a Starbucks-branded store in 2011, and later closed in 2017. Another, Roy Street Coffee and Tea at 700 Broadway E., also on Capitol Hill opened in November as a "Tudor-style coffeehouse". Although the stores have been called "stealth Starbucks" and criticized as "local-washing", Schultz says that "It wasn't so much that we were trying to hide the brand, but trying to do things in those stores that we did not feel were appropriate for Starbucks." The second floor of

Macy's Herald Square Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the Flagship#Retailing, flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The buildi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

has a non-branded Starbucks store, called the Herald Square Cafe.

References

{{Starbucks Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States Starbucks