NEW ORLEANS.
There’s a little magic brewing at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Starbucks recently opened a new store in the historic French Quarter, inspired by the city’s rich history as a coffee trading port and its unique artistic spirit. The store is the latest example of Starbucks ongoing approach to create locally relevant designs that honor the culture of the neighborhoods they serve.
For this new store on Canal Street, Starbucks designers went back in time, imagining what the space might look like if it had belonged to a Louisianan merchant in the early 1900s. The front room, where the merchant would have worked, features floor-to-ceiling shelves behind a large coffee bar, designed to resemble an old-fashioned apothecary store. Local sculptor David Borgerding built chandeliers from old wrought iron gates to honor the city’s mercantile roots. Another local artist, Jason Horton, created 12 block paintings above the bar to showcase the story of coffee from bean to cup, complimenting the special limited edition Starbucks Reserve® coffees available at this location. New Orleans-based Mystic Blue Signs created the hand painted gold leaf signs on the store windows and coffee jars.
Photos: Starbucks.
