Back to the days of the coffeehouse?

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, Inspired by Starbucks. That’s the name of the new local community coffeehouse concept brought to us by global giant Starbucks. This brand extension has me thoroughly intrigued.

The first store, 15th Ave… supposedly opened this week in Seattle. It will be followed by two more test stores, which will all have different names and be unbranded. This is to get at that local, one-of-a-kind coffee house feel that independent coffee shops seem to convey, and adopt a “community personality” as a company exec calls it. Not only will the new stores serve coffee, but they’ll also be adding beer, wine and live entertainment to their menu. Call me a coffeehouse novice, and maybe my polo shirt and boat shoe wearing personality deems me not crunchy enough to venture into authentic local coffeehouses, but I had no idea that they served beer and wine. The thoughts running through my head about this concept are endless, so I’ll try to only hit the highlights. (Read Huffington Post's take here.)

Starbucks Goes Back to its Roots with Café Concept -- That’s the title of the Ad Age article where I first read about these goings on. But can a business that owns 16,000 stores across the globe really turn back the clock to create the “local coffeehouse” or is the brand already too far beyond this? And in relation, does the unbranding and varying names of the coffeehouses fracture the brand leverage that comes with being affiliated with the Starbucks name? It is known all over the world after all. In applying a the concepts from the article Brand Leverage Power: The Critical Role of Brand Balance, by Vicki R. Lane, a brand extension article I read in my brand management course in grad school, I would consider Starbucks a “diamond” under the balanced brand category. In general, it has high consumer regard and familiarity, and thus has high leverage power. But I would assume in an extension situation they would leverage the brand name, not create a new unbranded product.

Enough people out there drink Starbucks because it’s Starbucks. If stores extend beyond Seattle are the 'Starbucks because it’s Starbucks' drinkers likely to hit up unaffiliated, unbranded stores, even if they are technically owned by Starbucks? These folks most likely aren’t the demographic being targeted by this extension, but they are avid Starbucks drinkers and fans, and probably the brand’s core consumer.

Just because you don’t call it Starbucks and offer more beverage options doesn’t mean it’s not Starbucks. This thought conjures up the “rose by any other name would smell as sweet” from Romeo and Juliet. Meaning it matters what something is, not what something is called. No they are not calling it Starbucks, but it’s still owned by Starbucks. Can they really create an environment so unique and intriguing to grab customers whether it has an unaffiliated coffeehouse name or not? With the news of this new venture all over the web it’s not like Starbucks can completely hide their brand affiliation with these new coffeehouses. Will someone seeking an authentic local coffeehouse venture into Starbucks’ take on such for Starbucks to effectively steal the consumers that frequent already established and authentic local coffeehouses? Notice this point could contradict the people drink Starbucks because it’s Starbucks point above, but will they still drink it if it doesn’t say Starbucks on the cup?

Or, will these stores become the next hit thing in coffee? If people drink Starbucks for the name, are they also likely to drink and sport 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea cups and merchandise because it’s Starbucks’ next hit thing? Thus, will these stores have enough of the Starbucks trendiness factor behind them for carry over and spur the next celeb hand accessory or runway prop?

As foreign the coffee and alcohol concept is to me, it apparently isn’t foreign to regions outside of Seattle and this company may have been beaten Starbucks to the punch. Café Caturra, whose motto is “Artisan coffee by day. Boutique wine by night. Simple, fresh food all day.” currently has three locations in and around Richmond, Virginia. Friends tell me it’s good; I will test it our for myself over the weekend and will report back with my take on a coffee/wine crossover establishment.

In my personal opinion, I’m not going to head to a Starbucks spin-off to grab a glass of wine or a beer, but I’m also the type of person to take my coffee on the run. Now, I wouldn’t mind taking a glass of wine on the run occasionally, but I’m pretty sure that’s not legal, or at least not legal in any place I’ve ever resided. I don’t sit and hangout at a Starbucks or any other coffee establishment for limited amounts of time. I might have used it as the occasional grad school/undergrad project meeting place, but I generally find the atmosphere too distracting to get anything of importance accomplished. Too much people watching to indulge in.

Those are my thoughts, questions, and opinions as they relate to Starbucks local coffeehouse venture. Maybe Starbucks will successfully blow a coffeehouse novice like me away with this concept. I am more of a daily Dunkin’ Donuts coffee girl after all.