By Gretchen Berger
The much-loved and missed Starbucks located at 2140 Broadway at West 75th Street quietly reopened its doors on Friday, since closing this past January for major renovations.
First, the café has expanded its footprint, having taken over an adjoining retail space that had been long vacant, now giving it two entries from Broadway. The freshly renovated interior has an array of new features, including more seating than previously, with a variety of areas and arrangements, including a long banquette interspersed with traditional tables and chairs, and bar seating. With a wall of windows on two sides, the well-lit open-concept interior is barrier-free with wide sight lines. This new configuration should help reduce congestion and crowding, and make it more accessible for people with disabilities.
The enhancements also spill over behind the counter, as staff now have a much larger workspace, making ordering a smoother process. Other novelties include illuminated photographs of menu items on the wall, and a large, illuminated status board at the end of the bar, diplaying when orders are in progress or ready for pickup. All this and the prices are the same! Enjoy your cuppa’ Joe!
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And the one on 66th St & Amsterdam Ave is now closed for renovations.
All these renovations mean that Starbucks is eliminating public bathrooms. Every renovation that has been done by Starbucks has removed public bathrooms.
Bathrooms will likely still be available for customers, ie, people who purchase something at the store. Most restaurants clearly state that restrooms are for patrons / customers only.
Oh no!!
Slowly but surely Starbucks is walking back from original concept of being a “third place”. Much of that comes from persons loitering or lingering at SB locations for hours upon end generating very little revenue, but consuming free WiFi, space, use of restrooms…..
Starbucks restrooms became de facto public bathrooms. Homeless, taxi/ride share drivers, NYPD, TEA, any and everyone walked in off street and used restrooms. In good number of times place was left in a foul and disgusting state afterwards.
It is SB staff that has to go into those restrooms and clean up what often are some of the most foulest conditions .
Explosive BMs, vomit, urine soaked floors, bathrooms used as “showers” with floors soaking wet and covered in paper towels (also wet with water and urine). Used “Ladies Days” supplies littered about… And so it goes.
At some point staff simply got or gets fed up. Many times an “out of order” sign will go up and remain there until store closes. This to avoid cleaning up a bathroom several times per day.
If they have over 20 seats the law says they have to have a bathroom.
No restroom, no sale.
Starbucks sells coffee and pastry. They’re not a comfort station. When they provided that service, the public took advantage and used their stores as pit stops, often without purchasing anything.
Also, having fewer tables discourages those who “work at home” from camping out all day, spreading their work out on a large table, preventing others from having a simple coffee. Twice I was in the Starbucks at 75th at noon and then returned again about 7 pm to buy a pound of coffee. The same person was at one of the large tables. The barrister told me that she was often there for an entire work day.
We brought the changes on ourselves…
If they have increased seating/ have 20 or more seats they (still) legally have to offer a bathroom, no?
75 street has the room, but they took out tables and bathroom.
Although, I do think the newly renovated Starbucks on Broadway x 86th St still has a bathroom.
That’s close to me
I’ve noticed the same thing.
50 years ago, finding a public bathroom was not a problem. What has changed?
Americans are a funny lot. They walk around carrying water bottles or other beverages. Then are caught short and need to use the loo *NOW*.
Fifty or so years ago people didn’t go around carrying said water bottles or otherwise drinking large amounts of fluid “on the go” so to speak. You went before leaving home, the office, school or where ever and that should hold you over until reached next destination.
Less staff. Less cleaners.
Starbucks grew tired of being America’s bathroom.
Only the Chai tea is worth a trip to that store.
Mucho less chairs and tables
Less capacity seems 2 beat the law on bathrooms which are still there but not 4 public
I would never go into a Starbucks bathroom 😷
Maybe they should just open a grand public bathroom and serve coffee on the side. They could call it Starbutts!
If the bathrooms are such and issue why not just go back to locked bathrooms that are for customers only?
Because bathroom users give access to non-paying non-customers. Just like the subway system.
Coffee is a diuretic. It makes you shed water. That’s why it would be important for a coffee shop to have a bathroom.
If you’re sitting in a Starbucks long enough for it to pass, you’re there too long. Others would probably like to sit for a few minutes as well.