Starbucks
Coffee shop · Tulsa
1832 Utica Square, Tulsa, OK 74114
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71397864/1420597598.0.jpg "Starbucks by Jenn Moreno/VIEWpress")
Highlights
Signature roasts, light bites, WiFi, and friendly service
Signature roasts, light bites, WiFi, and friendly service
"After years of trying to convince people that it was a welcoming 'third place' for gathering or working remotely, Starbucks is 'evolving' away from that experiment and is leaning hard into operating just like any other fast-food restaurant." - Amy McCarthy
"Often treated as an industry benchmark, base pay at the company can be relatively low on the lower end (Glassdoor estimates around $8 per hour), but many full- and part-time workers receive more extensive benefits—including health coverage, 401(k) matching, tuition reimbursement, and paid time off—which supporters cite as evidence the employer 'really takes care of their employees.' Workers and activists have organized petitions and campaigns urging higher minimum wages (for example, a push for a $12 floor), highlighting tensions between base pay and overall compensation." - Matthew Sedacca
"Built on dessert‑flavored coffee drinks that turn caffeine cravings into treats (the Frappuccino is basically a coffee milkshake), the chain offers a wide but largely forgettable food selection — cold and hot sandwiches, salads, pastries and protein boxes — none of which inspire real excitement; even well‑displayed items like the lemon pound cake tend to feel like diminished versions of better originals. The one notable exception is the sous‑vide egg bites, introduced in 2017: small, round, warm two‑piece servings (bacon and gruyère or egg‑white with red pepper) with a silken, tofu‑like texture and a savory, cheesy but not greasy flavor that pairs especially well with the chain’s smooth, mildly sweet cold brew. Their primary ingredient is cottage cheese, which helps explain the unusual texture; paleo and keto bloggers have reverse‑engineered the recipe and there is a clear fandom. They defy easy classification — not quite frittata, not a classic snack or cookie — and occupy a liminal space (part slider, part bonbon) that feels novel rather than merely a diet substitute. While they can be read as another corporate response to fleeting nutrition trends, the egg bites stand out as a rare industrial‑food success: compact, satisfying, and likely to outlast much of the rest of the menu." - Meghan McCarron
"An app update introduced in late July prevents customers from adding the same modifier (for example, syrups, sauces, or extra espresso shots) more than 12 times on a single order, aiming to curb overly complicated “secret menu” and stunt orders that slow service and burden staff. Management acknowledged the issue in an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, and employees say many people use the app to stack excessive mods they wouldn’t request in person. The update still allows an unlimited number of distinct modifiers, so highly customized drinks remain possible, but requests that exceed the per-modifier cap will now require asking for them face-to-face." - Jenny G. Zhang
"A major coffee-shop chain introduced the pumpkin spice latte as a seasonal autumn drink in 2003, a launch that helped ignite the mainstream pumpkin-spice craze; since then the flavor has proliferated into countless products and the chain has tended to roll the latte out earlier each year. The beverage remains culturally significant and polarizing—first inspiring intense enthusiasm, then a period of 'pumpkin spice fatigue' and backlash, and now largely indifference as the flavor has become ubiquitous. The chain’s seasonal offering is portrayed as a durable, if divisive, staple of fall menus and a touchpoint in wider conversations about taste, trends, and consumer culture." - Madeleine Davies
