A Starbucks With No Bathrooms? Some E Wenatchee Patrons Don’t Get It

Longtime patrons of the Starbucks on Valley Mall Parkway in East Wenatchee might not all be especially thrilled with the location's recently-completed renovations.

The store opened in the early 2000s on a footprint that was somewhat small, but still offered the same amenities that nearly every Starbucks at the time was known for, including restrooms and indoor seating - both of which have now been removed.

In August, the store closed for a requisite makeover to become a pick-up only establishment, and when it reopened earlier this month, it did so without any restrooms or indoor seating - a fact that has a few of its current and former patrons hopping mad on social media.

In recent years, the company has been streamlining its approach to the traditional "Starbucks experience" by catering to more people who are on the go, rather than those who'd like to grab their favorite beverage and stay awhile.

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The move to place more emphasis on the Seattle-based coffee giant's drive-thru business and mobile ordering was driven by its heavier volumes of sales in these demographics. But in his second day on the job, new Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a letter to employees and customers last month that he wants to see the company "return to its roots as a 'community coffeehouse' with comfortable seats, design, and a clear distinction between 'to-go' and 'for-here' service".

But it seems Niccol's strategic sentiments arrived too late for frequenters of the East Wenatchee store, who are loudly voicing their opposition to the changes implemented at their hometown location.

In a Thursday thread on Reddit regarding the renovations, user TheCoziestGuava said it's "One more reason to go to locally-owned cafes", while user herbalhippie wrote, "It used to be warm and cozy in there, now it looks very unwelcoming", and user Separate_Rub_7783 pronounced his animus for the new design with only two words, "F*** Starbucks!".

Regular patrons of the Valley Mall Parkway Starbucks have all told me that the company is planning to again offer outdoor seating in the coming weeks, but the store's lack of a restroom could cause a problem with that plan, since all dining establishments offering on-site seating in Washington State are required to provide restrooms by law (WAC 246-215-05235).

Whatever becomes of any al fresco latte sipping at Starbucks East, the shift to a restaurant that's run more like a fully-enclosed kiosk or a drive-thru in a vestibule with no room for cars, does seem rather counterintuitive. It certainly isn't a stretch to suggest the company would be better off finding a new location in East Wenatchee where it could install a proper drive-thru, or simply undo the makeover it just finished to fall more in line with its new CEO's taste for nostalgia.

Perhaps, like so many other things, we can blame the pandemic for the swerve in social habits that led Starbucks to create a small-town coffee shop with the M.O. of a filling station? But regardless of why it's happened, I personally miss the days when we were all less busy doing whatever it is we are so often now to get out of our homes and cars and stay awhile, no matter where we might be going.