Artifact & Artifice: Cultural Studies of the Textual City: Starbucks on the Ave

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This blog was created by and for students in an Introduction to Cultural Studies class at the University of Washington. Through an investigation of urban experience and representation--in theory, in graphic novels and in our own "readings" of Seattle's University District--we considered the formation and history of cultural studies as an (anti)discipline, with a special emphasis on the questions, "What does cultural studies do, and how do you do cultural studies?"

If you'd like to know more about the class, the blog or our U-District artifact project, please contact Gabrielle Dean: gnodean@u.washington.edu.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Starbucks on the Ave

Starbucks on 4147 University Way is sitting at a crossroad between 42nd and the Ave. Standing with the back to the main entrance, one can find Café on the Ave right on the other side of 42nd that serves coffee and similar beverages as well. At the remaining two corners of the University Way a copy centre and an Indian restaurant are located. Compared to the surrounding buildings, Starbucks from the outside is notably much more clean and well-kept.

Although from the outside it seems to be made of bricks and cement, once inside, the walls sound as if they were made of a thick kind of plastic and wood.
The outside dominant colour is the well-known forest-emerald green of the logo and the overhangs.

Most of the people who go to Starbucks don’t just go there by chance; they seem to know exactly why they went there, what to order, who to meet, where to seat and what to do. Starbucks on the Ave is never empty, even though it’s also never overly busy. Almost no one goes there just for a cup of caffeine but instead customers seem to look for the whole Starbucks experience. Whether it’s grabbing a cup of coffee or frappuccino, preparing an exam while munching on a low-fat blueberry muffin or having a chat with a friend, Starbucks seems to win over the many coffee stands of the U-District thanks to its comfortable atmosphere.

Starbucks on the Ave has a special role within the U-District. Its proximity to the University of Washington campus makes the coffeehouse one of the favourite spots for students and staff to go and have a cup of coffee or also to chill out after a busy day. The employees affirm that circa the 70% of the customers are UW related, especially students.