“To me, the point of a coffee store, was not just to teach customers about fine coffee but to show them how to enjoy it.

What we proposed to do was to reinvent a commodity. We would take something old and tired and common -coffee- and weave a sense of romance and community around it. We would rediscover the mystique and charm that had swirled around coffee throughout the centuries. We would enchant customers with an atmosphere of sophistication and style and knowledge.

At home you’re part of a family. At work you’re part of a company. And somewhere in between there’s a place where you can sit back and be yourself. That’s what a Starbucks store is to many of its customers — a kind of ‘third place’ where they can escape, reflect, read, chat or listen.”

– Howard Schultz,
Chairman and CEO of Starbucks