Jim Romenesko's Profile

Follow Starbucks Gossip at @sbuxgossip

Tweets by @sbuxgossip I hang out at Peet's Coffee & Tea (and indie shops) more often than Starbucks these days -- the shitty Wi-Fi that SBUX offers is why -- and no longer have that much interest in Starbucks' doings.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 11, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks UK starts selling Duffins -- two years after a small chain introduced them

A small London bakery chain has been selling Duffins -- a combo muffin/donut -- since 2011. "Happy customers have been blogging about it, instagramming it, and tweeting about it ever since," reports Channel 4 news. But now Starbucks UK has... Continue reading

Posted Oct 9, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks gives free brewed coffee to customers who buy a beverage for another customer

From Wednesday (Oct. 9) to Friday (Oct. 11), Starbucks is offering a free tall brewed coffee to any customer who buys another person a beverage at Starbucks. CEO Howard Schultz says the offer is a way to help fellow citizens... Continue reading

Posted Oct 9, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Are you surprised there's no pumpkin in Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte?

* Is there a conspiracy to discredit Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte? Continue reading

Posted Oct 8, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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How to make a Starbucks-like Pumpkin Spice Latte at home

I have never tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte -- only brewed coffee for me, thank you -- but I certainly know about the Cult of PSL. That's why I'm posting this copycat recipe; let us know in comments how it... Continue reading

Posted Oct 6, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Why did she *ever* bother to give her real name at Starbucks?

Mirta Ojito wrote in the Miami Herald over the weekend: "Two weeks ago, I caved in. I gave a fake name to a Starbucks employee. After years of not even pronouncing my name, but simply spelling it as if I... Continue reading

Posted Sep 29, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks files to trademark the name 'Fizzio' for its new line of carbonated drinks

Starbucks says in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the name Fizzio would be for its beverage-making machines, as well as a variety of drinks. Starbucks has been testing sodas -- Lemon Ale, Original Ginger Ale... Continue reading

Posted Sep 25, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Has Starbucks gotten rid of the newspaper-sharing basket at your store?

A journalist writes to Starbucks Gossip: "At two Starbucks locations I frequent here in LA, it seems like they've removed what seemed to be the standard newspaper-sharing basket, where people would leave newspapers they'd bought to read there. "I haven't... Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Shape magazine is looking for Starbucks baristas who have served coffee to celebrities

SHAPE magazine writer Kristen Aldridge sends this email: "I'm working on a story right now called "Celebrities and their Favorite Starbucks Drinks". I'm trying to contact current and former baristas to get information on what celebrities like to order at... Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Chicago Tribune columnist wonders why you need a gun while enjoying coffee at Starbucks

* Why do you need a gun to go to Starbucks? Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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"15 Things You Didn't Know About Starbucks" (Oh yes we did!)

Sorry, BuzzFeed, but we knew about many of these things! It's no surprise that Chantico is the company's biggest flop; that was well-documented on this website. Starbucks owns Teavana? Yup. * 15 Things You Didn't Know About Starbucks Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks is now asking customers to leave their guns at home

"Today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where "open carry" is permitted -- unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel." Starbucks, which previously allowed open carry of... Continue reading

Posted Sep 18, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Howard Schultz's second home is on Fifth Avenue in New York (how are your housing arrangements?)

From the New York Times: * Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz lives at 950 Fifth Avenue in NYC -- a vertical bastion of billionaires with just seven residences * From 2007: Howard Schultz pays $25 million to $30 million for a... Continue reading

Posted Sep 15, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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The coolest Starbucks on the planet is in New Delhi

Rafat Ali writes after visiting the recently opened (March, 2013) Starbucks store in New Dehli: "For someone used the the skeezy and icky New York Starbucks stores, the cleanliness of this is astounding, to say the least. One of the... Continue reading

Posted Sep 8, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Open letter to Howard Schultz about launching a Starbucks Book Club

Click on the letter for a larger view * Starbucks Book Club pitch Continue reading

Posted Sep 3, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks barista says he was fired for eating a sandwich that had been thrown away

Coulson Loptmann, 21, says he was fired from Seattle Starbucks for eating an "expired" plastic-wrap sandwich that had been tossed into the dumpster. "I hadn't eaten all day and I was on a seven-hour shift," he says. Loptmann (on the... Continue reading

Posted Aug 28, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Moms group sets 'Skip Starbucks Saturday' boycott for August 24

A group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is trying to pressure Starbucks to change its current policy which allows customers to carry loaded guns into its stores in states where that's permitted. The Moms are urging... Continue reading

Posted Aug 22, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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La Boulange bakery goods come to Starbucks stores in Chicago

Time Out Chicago magazine taste-tested the goods on La Boulange's debut in the Windy City. Here's what they said: Reduced-Fat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaf Cake: “This is like the pumpkin spice latte in food form. There are a lot of... Continue reading

Posted Aug 20, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Study: Starbucks in Boston provides a more welcoming environment than indie coffee shops

Anthropologists from the University of West Virginia went to Boston and observed what was going on a three different Starbucks stores and three locally owned independent coffee joints. They focused on things like how social and welcoming a place is;... Continue reading

Posted Aug 20, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks can't get Google Wi-Fi in its stores fast enough!

Starbucks WiFi -- frustrating customers for years -- prompts daily tweets from people who can't take it anymore. Every time I bring up this issue of super-slow Starbucks Wi-Fi, the SBUX Kool-Aid Drinkers counter with: You get what you pay... Continue reading

Posted Aug 14, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks in Newtown closes early after pro-gun and gun-control advocates go at it

Friday was declared "Starbucks Appreciation Day" by gun advocates who urged others to take their guns to Starbucks and enjoy a coffee. The Starbucks in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people died in a school shooting last December, closed early to... Continue reading

Posted Aug 11, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Gun owners plan to pack heat at Starbucks on Friday

Gun owners are planning to take their guns to Starbucks on Friday as part of an “I Love Guns and Coffee” campaign. They want to show their appreciation for Starbucks' policy that lets customers carry guns openly in states where... Continue reading

Posted Aug 8, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Human rights commission backs Starbucks in banning woman from store

Azadeh Azad went to a Victoria, B.C. Starbucks to write on her laptop every day. At one point she started taking her "daylight" lamp with her, which at least one customer found annoying. (The woman said the light helped alleviate... Continue reading

Posted Aug 6, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Good riddance, AT&T! Starbucks teams up with Google to offer super-fast Wi-Fi

Starbucks' Wi-Fi will be 10 times faster once the stores' networks are upgraded. Slow-as-syrup AT&T is out, and Level 3/Google is in. Starbucks chief digital officer Adam Brotman finally got word that Starbucks offered the worst Wi-Fi on the planet... Continue reading

Posted Jul 31, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz cites 'enthusiastic response to our La Boulange bakery items'

From the July 25 Starbucks conference call with analysts: "Our lunch offerings continue to expand in popularity. While Howard mentioned the enthusiastic response our La Boulange bakery items are receiving it is important to know that this quarter's comp growth... Continue reading

Posted Jul 28, 2013 at Starbucks Gossip

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