Starbucks Canada will soon be pouring beer and wine along with coffee and cappuccinos.
On April 5, three Starbucks cafés in Toronto are launching the Starbucks Evenings menu, which is available after 2 p.m. and includes Canadian craft beer, cider, and a selection of Canadian and international wines. New food offerings include small plates designed for sharing, such as artichoke and goat cheese flatbread, and parmesan crusted chicken skewers.
Starbucks Evenings debuted in Seattle in 2010, as the coffee chain aims to drum up sales in the afternoon and evenings. The menu has since launched at more than 300 locations across the U.S., with one location in the U.K. and one in Japan.
“The opportunity was to offer new occasions for our customers to come in a little bit later in the day and to connect as they normally would over a cup of coffee, but also expand the [food and beverage] offerings,” said Jessica Mills, director of brand communications at Starbucks Canada.
Mills said the new menu is aimed at existing Starbucks customers (over the legal drinking age of 19, of course). “It’s someone who is familiar with the Starbucks experience and is a member of the neighbourhood,” she said. “The [selected] locations have been there a long time, they’re established in the community and there’s a degree of familiarity.”
The three locations with the new menu are: 3079 Bloor St. W. (Kingsway neighbourhood), 446 Spadina Rd. (Forest Hill) and 1740 Avenue Rd. (North Toronto).
Starbucks is aiming to introduce the menu to other locations, but will see how the first three stores perform. “We know that it has been very successful in other markets and we’d like to learn from these three stores and expand it where we can,” said Mills.
“I don’t anticipate this being in all stores, all the time… but certainly where there is a community and a customer group for whom this makes a lot of sense, we will absolutely be exploring those opportunities.”
