Starbucks Coffee Japan - Serving Alcohol **respond**

[CoffeeLover]

Starbucks Coffee in Japan is testing the waters as its new corporate articles allows for selling of alcoholic products at various shops. None of the Starbucks Coffee shops in the US will carry alcoholic products. The test shops are testing the sales of beers and wines, if you’re in Japan and you would like to check it out visit the Kobe Theater to find an alcoholic beverage serving coffee shop.

I feel this could seriously damage Starbucks image. I don’t go to a coffee shop to buy a beer; I go there to buy coffee. Wonder if they will be serving alcoholic coffee beverages such as the Irish coffee….

Should Starbucks be doing this, what do you think it will do for their sales and how do the people living in Japan feel about this?

 

[Guest]

Japan Starbucks Serves ALCOHOL

Coffee is its own drink, alcohol doesnt mix with coffee crowds. One is a stimulant and the other is not. I can't see how this would work out, if I were in Japan I would not buy from the Starbucks serving beers and wines.

:lol: 8) :? :shock: :x

 

[macchiato]

this sounds like alot of fun!

I would love to take home a story from my vacation that I got completely plastered at a starbucks in japan.

 

[dspender]

I subscribe to a magazine called Coffee Retailer. Its so interesting - the magazine constantly talks about ways to offer a variety of products besides COFFEE to improve sales. I guess its just that most coffee shops/cafes/etc. are truly in it for the money.

They'll do anything to increase overall sales - so they all end up offering smoothies, ice cream, alcohol, cake, blah blah blah, until you can't even get a decent cup of REAL coffee

Oh its sad really.

 

[Mikeftrevino]

Amen to that brother! Too many people do go onto the business thinking it's easy and cheap and that the profit margin is huge. Well, it is if you want to have crappy product, look like an idiot, and be beaten out by starbucks. Quality product costs money, but with quality comes loyalty. The coffee drinker sees this quality in presentation, knowledge, and actual cup taste. The knowledgable drinkers will see this right off the bat and not come back, but the new coffee drinker will be eventually put off by the crappy product and may never drink coffee again.

As far as alcohol and coffee. I think they belong together as much as coffee and sweetend syrups. Sometime they compliment eachother in a way that pleases the drinker. Hell, Irish Cream syrup would not exsist and be so popular without the actual Irish Cream. I had a Commander in the military that like vodka in his coffee. (yes he was an alcoholic, but he still did like the taste)

 

[topher]

I feel that you need to give the guest what they want....In my atmosphere they want booze!! We offer 25 different coffee based alcoholic beverage. They are selling so well that we are increasing the menu to 35 different drinks. We do not sell beer or wine but high end spirits. To say that coffee and alcohol do not belong together is silly....Irish coffee, Gaelic coffee...Sambuca...wait coffee cherries used to be used to make wine! I just think it is sad that people can be this closed minded! The coffee industry is not a closed book on what can and can not be done...It is constently evolving. I was told that I could not use alcohol in the barista contest in Boston....my point is cutting edge is what this industry is about so why stifle creativity? Just my 2 cents.

 

[notmuffy]

I don't think that beer and wine is going to help their image. I thought their image was soccer moms and business professionals (hence the T-mobile hotspots and really posh coffee machine paraphenelia). Do they want "loud, drunken college student" image? I could definitely see how a shot of Ameretto or Bailey's would enhance the coffee experience.

 

[Rowley]

I beleive to all there own. It is an interesting business decision and probly one that makes more sense in Japan then to me in the states.

All I could say about that is. Coffee beer, beer Coffee. well whatever sells and whatever makes the money. But this is a bit of an interesting show of how starbucks is just a logo company and nothing else would matter except the executive selling a logo not coffee.

 

[CoffeeLover]

I'd go for alcoholic coffee drinks such as the Irish coffee, I don't know how well they'd do as a full bar. For instance you go to a bar and drink, your drunk, it's late, your tired they give you a cup of coffee that has been on the heat for over 12 hours. Well now you can actually get a good cup of coffee!

 

[tintinet]

As long as they make decent coffee...

Alcohol can make a nice combo with coffee, and sometimes, alternation of the hot and the cold drinks can be nice. I don't have any strong objection to their offering alcoholic bevs in Japan, but I doubt it would fly in the U.S., except, perhaps, in certain special locations.

 

[husker267]

What many people fail to realize is that in Japan, beer can be bought out of vending machines, just like a can of soda. Alcohol does not carry the same stigma in Japan or even Europe that it does here in the US. In fact, it wasn't uncommon during a recent visit to Paris to see business men walking down the street, drinking a can of beer at the end of the work day.

 

[jj.wise]

alcohol coffee bar

Hey I see this is a really old topic and curious if people have changed their views, I see it looks like topher (at the time) was the only person I could find on this forum running a coffee shop with spirits.

Curious if anybody else is doing this, I''ve been a coffee restaurant manager, and a bar manager, I''d love to combine the two. I just see this idea kicking some serious butt in a college town, curious to see how people are dealing with licenses, hours, etc. of dealing with having alcohol in your coffee shops!

 

[cindy]

i have to agree, to sell alcohol in a starbucks would be to ask for a hotdog at a seafood restaurant.
on the other hand.
my establishment started off as a bar, then turned into a restuarant and then i added the roastery onto it.
it may sound confusing but each aspect of the establishment has its own identity and the one doesnt overpower the other.
i too have a lot of alcohol based drinks on the menu, but they are far from as popular as the regular coffees and lattes.
the whole problem with the starbucks concept is that it already has a set/sollid identity...they sell coffee.
if you are fortunate enough to be able to encorporate food and alcohol into your coffee business, you can only benefit from it.
but my vote for starbucks & alcohol idea still gets a black ball from me.

 

[Alun_evans]

I know that a brother of a friend of mine is looking at adding specialty coffee into his bar opperation in San Fran. He owns/runs one of the oldest bars in the cit, and has changed the image of the plce from being a bit of a beer swill into an upper end Scotch specialty place. However, he is missing out on a good part of the day (apparently most San Frando not start on the top shelf stuff until after 7pm). His idea was to have the place running as a cafe in the am and up until late afternoon. He had done a lot of research on the concept- but granted it is a bit different from running both Spirits/beer and coffee simultaneously. I mut follow up with him to see how the concept is progressing.

 

[cindy]

Hi there Alun

i completely understand his concern with running beer, spirits, and coffee at the same time.
let me elaborate on my concept a bit.
becuase of the south african liquor laws we are not allowed to sell alcoholic beverages before 9:30 and in some parts 10am.
this makes it easy for me. i open shop at 7am and have a big breakfast run daily...or at least, i sell coffee and then people decide on breakfast while sitting there.
the roastery starts operating at 11am everyday, and at this time the housewives who go grocery shopping will stop round for a cup of coffee, and then buy their coffee supply for the week because its freely available in the same building.
now with lunchtime you have the pensioners who come in for their beer and a pub style lunch, but after the beer they enjoy their cup of coffee.
it is around 2 - 3pm that the coffee side calms down alot and the spirits and beer part starts booming a bit. this carries on until about 7pm until everyone finishes work and has a dinner, with a wine or something, and then just before town starts to calm down and people start going home the coffee picks up again...this continues until closing time.

the building on the other hand helps alot.
the bar is totally seperate from the seating area, and the roastery is on the other side of the building.
i also have a large seating area on the outside, surrounded by trees and large green lawns and shrubs. no matter where you sit, you can either have coffee, spirits, beer, wine, food, cakes etc.
also, i have found that if your menu (im not talking the range of food im talking the actual menu the waiter takes out to people) clearly states the different lines he can offer, i.e. the 1st page would be coffee with its own colours and illustrations, the 2nd breakfast, 3rd salads and starters etc and not forgetting to mention somewhere that you can buy beans...works wonders.

let me know, i would love to hear more of other concepts similar to mine.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: