A.R.E. Awards – Specialty Food Retailer – Grand Prize

Starbucks went back to basics in its 15th Avenue location with a rustic combination of salvaged barnwood, old warehouse lighting, rusted wire chandeliers adorned with clothespins, and large photographs depicting coffee and tea rituals. Wall treatments range from individually adhered book pages to stripped metal ceiling tiles. Open bins filled with whole bean coffee and burlap sacks from the Starbucks plant filled with coffee give a fresh-from-the-field atmosphere. A hand-chalked map highlights the coffee region as the backdrop for a hanging vintage scale piled with green coffee beans, making it clear that in this store, coffee is king.