Starbucks finally goes curbside in Delco
EDGEMONT » Six weeks ago it was liberating to walk into a Starbucks café, order a drink and curse the coronavirus pandemic.
Just when it seemed safe to show up and order a pineapple matcha latte, a caramel cloud macchiato or a honey almond flat white with your name written on the cup, Starbucks shuttered the establishments without drivethroughs the week before April, citing virus concerns for its partners and customers. It was every coffee drinker for him or herself.
Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel in Delaware County.
Starbucks still won’t allow you in stores, but you can order a drink on the mobile app and pick it up at the front door.
Not only do you avoid those insane drivethrough lines that have pitted nasty motorists against each other, and in some cases created dangerous traffic situations, you get a little bit of exercise picking it up.
“I’ve driven by the drivethrough in Broomall numerous times and would not sit in that line that comes out the parking lot and down the street,” Marple resident Tom Gorman said. “I took my daughter there the other day because she misses it. She gets one every day in New York City. She’s home now. But I saw that line and I said, ‘No way. I’m not doing it. I refuse.’ I said, ‘Sara, we don’t need something that bad.’”
When Gorman found the Starbucks had reopened in the Shoppes at Marville Plaza on West Chester
Pike, he made himself try the pick-up service.
Elapsed time, including payment: Under two minutes for a venti nonfat latte – two Sweet ‘n Lows, light foam.
“I pulled up, saw the sign and I have the app and my drink is already on there,” Gorman said. “I ordered it, put on my mask, went up and she said, ‘Are you Tom?’ And she brought it right out. It was real quick. A minute and a half. Better than the drive-through.”
The curbside option requires customers to order and purchase on the Starbucks app, and wait outside a box outlined with yellow tape. Masks are mandatory, as well.
Starbucks didn’t respond to a request for comment. By the end of the week, it estimates that 85 percent of its companyowned stores will reopen with limited hours and the above precautions.
At the Starbucks on West Chester Pike in Broomall, Zoe Holman of Radnor appreciated a stunningly quick sale after ordering her trademark ice venti matcha latte online. She survived the drive past the Starbucks with the nightmare traffic snarl at West Chester Pike and New Ardmore Avenue.
“I think this is a good idea,” Holman said. “They definitely lost business having just the drivethroughs open like the one down the street. The line wraps all the way around the building into the street. I think it’s smart doing something like this with minimal contact. I didn’t realize that you’re not allowed to go in at first but it’s a good idea.”
At the Springfield Starbucks on Baltimore Pike, Delco resident Steve Laird was treating himself and a friend to a drink. The selfdescribed once-a-week customer was cupping an ice cocoa cloud macchiato.
“Anything to make us feel like normal again,” Laird said.
Unnatural as it is to grab a coffee wearing a protective mask, just the freedom of getting off your rump and interacting with a real person a safe distance away beats the drive-through culture that’s become increasingly popular with Starbucks. CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC that 80 percent of customer orders pre-COVID-19 were coming through drive-through, café delivery and mobile delivery.
What Johnson and his team shouldn’t overlook is the therapeutic value of
“I pulled up, saw the sign and I have the app and my drink is already on there. I ordered it, put on my mask, went up and she said, ‘Are you Tom?’ And she brought it right out. It was real quick. A minute and a half. Better than the drive-through.” — Marple resident Tom Gorman
the walk-in. For now, the walk-up is the best to be hoped for.
“I think a lot of businesses are starting to like slowly transition to things like this,” Holman said. “Especially now that the weather is getting nicer. People are hoping the situation with the virus is going to get better. I think this adds a little bit to that optimism.”
Gorman also is cautiously optimistic the worst is over. Though he’s not at risk for the coronavirus, he still has concerns, as others do.
“I just think everybody is itching to go and fed up,” Gorman said of the stayat-home orders. “I’m a little scared. I think everything’s coming back a little bit too quickly. I know the chance of me catching it is low but there’s still a chance.”
A Realtor, Gorman has been slammed by the virus. It’s impossible to show a house except virtually. A lot of buyers still have to see the place before they lock in.
Gorman also is counting the blessings. He planned to tee off at Springfield Golf Club for the fifth straight day Tuesday, the courses having reopened last week. He has time to do it.
And on those days Gorman doesn’t want the $2 coffee, he can break out his cell phone, pull up the app and get the $4 cup.
“Actually, it was $4.72,” he said of the venti latte.