The Isla Vista Starbucks received a facelift over Winter Break, updating its look with new furniture and an outdoor walk-up service window for its frappuccino-fiending customers.
Local Manager Danielle Fike and Regional Vice President Frank Sica had the window installed to accommodate the store’s high volume of foot traffic and relieve crowding inside the coffee shop. The java mogul is the world’s largest coffee corporation with several thousand stores located throughout the country.
According to Fike, the exterior “to-go” station offers the entire Starbucks menu without the hassle of indoor lines.
“The window out there has its own warming oven and we will start stocking the shelves,” Fike said. “We can serve everything out of that window. We just need to bring awareness to it.”
Third-year Santa Barbara City College engineering major Timothy Dbe said the outdoor window will likely help streamline the Starbucks experience.
“It is pretty cool,” Dbe said. “I will probably use it a lot. I think it works a lot better. Faster, I’ll tell you that much. It just looks really fresh and clean.”
Kiran Kaur, a third-year political science major, also said the outside ordering station provides faster service for customers in a hurry.
“Those windows are a good idea because it is more convenient,” Kaur said. “It is usually so packed inside.”
Additionally, Starbucks barista Joey Hall said the store’s new interior furniture refreshes the coffee conglomerate’s atmosphere.
“It is just a more welcoming, friendly environment,” Hall said. “Before, all of the furniture was outdated, worn and torn. I think the changes make everything a lot cleaner and brighter. It will make customers flow a lot easier. It definitely makes things a lot more convenient for people with dogs and strollers.”
Fike said the new layout requires staff to adapt to a greater influx of people.
“We are still adjusting to it,” Fike said. “There are a lot more orders that are coming in [and] we are going to have to staff more people.”
Third-year psychology major Joel Lumian said the outer windows could significantly decrease waiting time during busy hours.
“It looks mad chill,” Lumian said. “I hope it does make the lines inside a lot better. I probably won’t use it much though because I have been making my own coffee lately. Maybe I’ll give it a try when I run out of beans.”