News

Starbucks unveils kiosk location, restructures international development team

July 11, 2011

A new Starbucks kiosk has opened inside the JW Marriott hotel in Indianapolis. The Starbucks kiosk is a new concept for the Seattle-based coffee brand and is located on the second floor of the hotel adjacent to the Sky Bridge that connects the JW to the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center.

The new Starbucks kiosk will feature the full Starbucks menu of coffee, handcrafted beverages, pastries and baked goods, sandwiches and snacks. It will be open Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sundays from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In addition to the new concept, this will also be one of the first locations to introduce the new iPhone pay application, which allows customers to order and pay for their order electronically.

The kiosk opened through a partnership between Starbucks and White Lodging, which has resulted in the opening of seven stores in six states over the last eight years.

Worker tips lawsuit dismissed

In other Starbucks news, on July 11, the company won the dismissal of a lawsuit by former assistant store managers in New York who accused the chain of cheating them out of customer tips.

U.S. District Judge in Manhattan, Laura Taylor Swain, said the plaintiffs failed to show that they had a right to share in the tips left in plexiglass cube containers that Starbucks places beside cash registers.

According to the opinion, Starbucks' written policy on tips lets baristas and shift supervisors, primarily part-time employees, handle and receive tip box proceeds. Meanwhile, store managers and assistant store managers, who are typically salaried, full-time workers, do not handle tips.

The lawsuit was brought by five former assistant store managers in 2008 who worked in Starbucks stores in New York City or Long Island and sought class-action status.

The case is Winans et al v. Starbucks Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-03734.

Executive restructure

Michelle Gass, the former leader of the Seattle's Best Coffee chain and brand for Starbucks, will now run Starbucks' stores in Europe and the Middle East, a move that reflects Starbucks’ shifting focus on its international operations.

Meanwhile, Cliff Burrows, who was in charge of the U.S., will add Canada and Central and South America to his portfolio.

John Culver, who had run the entire international operation, will now lead the Asian-Pacific region, including Starbucks' first stores in India and Vietnam in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Starbucks has close to 17,000 cafes with nearly 6,000 outside of the U.S. — 2,700 in Asia, 1,700 in Europe and the Middle East, and 1,500 in Canada and Latin America.