Raleys to partner with Starbucks

[storewanderer]

Caribou is under the Panera umbrella now, and is expanding under the same franchisee (Manna) that has the Reno metro Paneras. They have Caribou rights in Michigan and other states. So, it will be interesting to see if they make a westward push into other chains.

Caribou has signed development agreements for 300 units in various parts of the US with existing Panera franchisees. We will see how it goes. Manna has agreed to 50 stores and given what a terrible operator they have been in Carson City and given how they price their units, unless they do something very different with Caribou, I do not expect this to go even close to 50 stores.

Caribou is pushing a new 600 square foot model for fast and cheap expansion. They still still offer full size units as an option. It will be interesting to see how many of the new units are full size vs. 600 square feet.

The Caribou-Einstein Bagel co-brand in Reno didn't last very long. I think it was like 2018-2020 with Caribou. That change led to higher prices, smaller cup sizes, and no more free hot/iced coffee/tea refills self serve as all of that was behind the counter under Caribou (previously the "bottomless coffee bar" was a feature of Einstein). It also led to a labor issue as Einstein always had a real efficiency challenge and having to have an employee constantly on Caribou added yet another task to an always stretched thin workforce. They did quite a few co-branded Caribou with Einstein (flipped out the Einstein coffee program for Caribou) and I'm not sure how many if any are left. The Reno one was removed right around Halloween 2020 and the Einstein Coffee program was returned, but iced tea/iced coffee never made their way back out to self serve (they had gotten rid of the urns.. Caribou kept these in pitchers behind the counter and they kept that after kicking out Caribou). Of course now that Einstein unit seems to be closed for good due to building damage but everything is still inside and I hope it comes back.

[rwsandiego]

...The Barnes & Noble and Macy's Starbucks units are "we proudly brew" so they are not actually serving full Starbucks menu and do not participate in the app, gift cards, mobile ordering, etc. The coffee drinks should taste the same as a typical Starbucks, they do get limited training from Starbucks reps. Their supply chain is different from a corporate or licensee Starbucks supply chain....

There is a small handful of Macy's that (still?) have a real Starbucks. One of them is Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix. The POS is Macy's restaurant system, but customers can use the Starbuck's app (I do it all the time - it's the only coffee shop on that stretch of Camelback Rd that I know of), earn/use stars, get the full menu, etc. I'd liken it to the Target/Safeway kiosks except this looks like a regular Starbucks store was planted in the Men's department.

Oak Brook Center was a "we proudly brew" location. The coffee was better when it was run by Field's and they served Field's own coffee.

I don't know whether the Starbucks inside of the State Street Macy's is still there. It was inside the vestibule of the Randolph and Wabash entrance. It was opened under Marshall Field's and operated for a while under Macy's. Also, I can't remember whether that location was owned and operated by Starbucks (i.e. using their POS with Starbucks employees). It's been a while since I was there.

...Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is still around in SoCal. They went on a big refranchising kick and I'm not sure how many corporate locations are left...

There is still one in Scottsdale at Indian School and Miller.

Another one is Caribou- Hy Vee used to be really heavy with Caribou. It appeared to do okay. Caribou is very popular in the upper midwest where they are from; MN and the Dakotas, etc. So it made sense for Hy Vee to partner with them. But as time went on Hy Vee started to put some Starbucks units into new stores instead. Then Hy Vee even started to build freestanding drive through Starbucks units out at the perimeter of the lot next to their gas station/convenience stores (if you didn't know better you'd think these were corporate Starbucks since they aren't even in the store and also have a drive through).

...their standard product is quite bland in my opinion...

I thought I was the only one who thought this, When Caribou opened their location in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood everyone raved about it. To steal from a Peanuts strip, the coffee tasted like hot water with two brown crayons dipped in it.

...Peet's and Caribou had or have common ownership and some Caribous were converted to Peet's. That did not go well and most of those are long closed. Peet's is polar opposite of Caribou defaulting to a VERY strong product.

They still are. JAB group, their owner, also owns Stumptown Coffee and a majority stake in Intelligentsia Coffee. You're right about Caribou being the exact opposite of Peet's. I like strong coffee, so I love Peet's.

I think Raley's is smart for partnering with Starbuck's. I favor local places, but too many of them make weak coffee, serve cold or burnt coffee and give you a hard time when you request a replacement. Starbuck's is consistent.

[ninersdd]

Yeah, one Starbucks in Macy's that I have been to is the Macys at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa(Orange County). Has mobile ordering so it works for stars, etc. Looked at it on the map and it is still there(I went in 2015).

[storewanderer]

That is interesting. During 2020 in Reno, Macys was building a "cafe" in a space in women's store. It opened for a couple days before COVID hit (not sure what the arrangement was then) then closed for months and any Starbucks branding was removed from it. When it finally reopened in late 2020, it was a we proudly brew Starbucks concession but you'd think it was a real Starbucks with how it is set up and what it sells.

[Romr123]

Macy's food service dwindled pretty substantially after COVID. They did some FB advertising in the fall of 2019 that got my husband and I to go to the location in Oakland Mall in Detroit. They retained many of the restaurants in the Marshall Field territory with their signature recipes (which themselves were a mashup of Daytons'/Hudsons/Marshall Fields' recipes) while closing them everywhere else. It was a fun throwback...took my mother in law to the one in Lakeside out in Sterling Heights one Sunday in early 2020. Unfortunately COVID took all of them out.

Only Nordstrom (kind of a weird fast casual hybrid with table service) and Neiman Marcus (entirely traditional tearoom) still have them in metro Detroit.

[storewanderer]

For some odd reason at Mall of America, Macys franchises a Potbelly of all things, at one of their entrances. I don't think many people even knew it was there. Part of the seating was in the store and part was out in the mall adjacent to their entry.

[Alpha8472]

It is strange how you can order on the Starbucks app for some of the Starbucks cafes in Macy's, but you can't order on the Starbucks app for Safeway or Target.

[storewanderer]

It is strange how you can order on the Starbucks app for some of the Starbucks cafes in Macy's, but you can't order on the Starbucks app for Safeway or Target.

I think Target is connected to Starbucks app for orders now. I had heard they would be getting connected months ago. Maybe something happened. Kroger is definitely connected, and seems to be using a Starbucks register in its kiosk too. Most of the casinos are even connected now, they don't use a Starbucks register but have a separate unit that feeds them app orders.

Not sure what the hold up with Safeway is.

[bryceleinan]

It is strange how you can order on the Starbucks app for some of the Starbucks cafes in Macy's, but you can't order on the Starbucks app for Safeway or Target.

I think Target is connected to Starbucks app for orders now. I had heard they would be getting connected months ago. Maybe something happened. Kroger is definitely connected, and seems to be using a Starbucks register in its kiosk too. Most of the casinos are even connected now, they don't use a Starbucks register but have a separate unit that feeds them app orders.

Not sure what the hold up with Safeway is.

Target is not connected yet either looking at locations in the Reno and Portland areas. Not sure what Safeway's deal is considering they were one of the first to take the mobile barcode at their registers.

[storewanderer]

Safeway charges higher prices than corporate Statbucks, .20 per drink higher. Kroger charges the same prices as corporate Starbucks in a given area and so does Target.

Maybe since Safeway is already well hooked into the loyalty program accepting rewards, redemption, etc. they sunk so much money into that tech that they don't want to spend what it takes to do mobile ordering. HMS Host (mostly airports) is set up similar to Safeway. The Safeway kiosks are also not doing well wherever there is a corporate Starbucks nearby which is another issue.

I suspect Kroger was under major pressure to accept Starbucks loyalty etc. and for years didn't upgrade their registers to do so like Safeway. So finally Kroger gave in and agreed to just move to Starbucks system.

Kroger did figure out how to accept Starbucks gift cards years ago through the Kroger register but unlike Safeway who restricts those to only work on Starbucks department items, at Kroger the restriction was the Starbucks gift card would only work at the Kroger cash register at the Starbucks kiosk. But it worked on any item sold at that register, not just Starbucks items.