• 10 min read
• May 28, 2026

It’s 12:03 p.m. and the vast community table at this Starbucks coffeehouse just south of Seattle is briefly empty.

Every morning, without fail, the table is full, occupied by a group of seniors who gather over coffee and often stay for hours.

But now, it’s a shift change. Not so much for Starbucks partners (employees), but for their regular customers. The morning rush is over and afternoon approaches. Soon, high school students doing homework will slide into the seats, sharing space with a man working on two laptops.

Mornings are a Starbucks staple — a foundation of the business. But a growing number of customers are stopping by U.S. coffeehouses in the afternoons.

One reason for the afternoon boost? Menu innovation. Coffeehouses are adding beverage and food offerings, things like Energy Refreshers and wraps, to meet the variety customers seek throughout the day.

Just as the afternoon menu has evolved, the pace in coffeehouses is different in the afternoons. There’s more time to settle in and linger, even in one of the busiest Starbucks in the Seattle area. The room changes as the day unfolds, every person and every partner making the space their own — in their own way, individual pieces of a mosaic that come together to tell a fuller story.

“Most of life happens in small moments.”

Brian Niccol, Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer

On a recent sunny afternoon, we settled in to observe these small, joyful moments as they unfolded in one community coffeehouse.

A leader, three days in

At 12:20 p.m.,

Emily L. settles into the café’s soft, tan couch. She is three days into her new role as this coffeehouse’s leader, and also brand-new to Washington, having moved from Southern California with her partner, Noah, and their two cats, Ramen and Atticus.

“This was my first real job …,” she said. “I grew up in Starbucks. I was super shy and was scared to even call out drinks. I didn’t have any leadership skills. Starbucks taught me everything I know.”

She is still getting to know her customers and team, but already knows what she wants the space to feel like.

“For so many customers, this becomes their office or this becomes like their place to get away from stressors of regular life. I want my coffeehouse to be that – where we can create that experience, and ask about your day, we ask about your life, and we remember your name. Coffee is such a great thing that we can share and a cool way we can connect.”

A café made to linger

By 12:40 p.m.,

many seats are filled. A digital board beside the bar shows customers where their orders are in the queue. This coffeehouse was one of more than 1,000 to be “uplifted” this year as part of Starbucks plan to create more comfortable places for people to gather. With soft seating, drapes, plants, warm lighting and a large community table, it feels like a welcoming place to linger.

Customers are noticing, noted Niccol. “If you’ve experienced a store with an uplift, the Third Place truly is alive, vibrant,” he said last month. “Our partners … take to heart the idea of being the community coffeehouse again.”

Investing in the atmosphere of coffeehouses isn’t just driving good vibes and positive feedback, it’s also driving more transactions, he added.

At 12:45 p.m.,

Maryam Al Darraji is sitting at a table facing the floor-to-ceiling windows with her laptop open before her. She comes here most days to study for the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, because she wants to become a surgeon. 

She likes the uplifted space.

“It’s comfy,” said Al Darraji. But more than that, “there’s community. Once you’ve been here a few times you start to recognize the regular people who come and then those regulars start to build their relationships.”

One morning, a friend that normally comes with her to study couldn’t make it, and another coffeehouse regular noticed and came over to ask, “I don’t see her here. Is she OK?”

Regulars, reunions and recognition

At 1:10 p.m.,

Philip B. didn’t expect to see Gary and Paula here. He met them in 2019 while working at a different Starbucks.

“They were regulars and I saw them every day. They met my son when he was first born. He’s 5 now,” said Philip, who leads a nearby coffeehouse of his own but was pitching in on this busy afternoon. “I walked in, saw Gary and Paula, and they both gave me hugs, and that’s, I mean, that’s what it’s about — to see people and to see their lives over the years, and then to share mine too.”

As a coffeehouse leader, Philip says he has the opportunity to help coach partners who are early in their careers, particularly on real-time hard conversations — even things like what to say to a customer who shares they just lost a pet. (“I’m so sorry. Your drink is on us. I hope you have what you need for today.”)

“So many of us come from a space of being scared to be truly who we are because of what people will say or judgements or whatever,” he said. “I want to be able to hold a space for you to be fully who you are and to be welcoming. That guides my leadership. I want my partners to learn how to do that for each other and customers.”

At 1:45 p.m.,

Brandi O. used to be a stay-at-home mom with two kids who came to this Starbucks often. But after her divorce, she needed a job and applied. This week she’s celebrating four years since going from customer to partner.

“This store is like the extended family that I need,” she said. So are some of her customers, who she’s become friends with outside of work.

“When you walk into a place and the energy is so welcoming, it’s contagious,” she said.

After school, before evening

By 2 p.m.,

Chad Madsen and his 6-year-old son, Grey, have taken over the sofa. Grey is deep into his chocolate chip cookie and sipping on his Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino with whipped cream.

Madsen usually comes in at 4:30 a.m. for a cold brew on his way to work, but this afternoon is an early release day at Grey’s school. They are here for a treat before heading to Grey’s baseball game. Grey pauses his snacking to stand up and demonstrate his swing with an invisible bat.

“He’s had a little hiccup in his swing so he’s thinking about it a lot,” Madsen says.

At 2:15 p.m.,

Customer Marianna Spiritakis is not in her usual seat. She typically takes the corner table by the bar, close to where the Starbucks partners are working. Someone else is there today, so she has taken the next closest table instead.

“This is an extension of my family,” she said, listing off the names of the partners working. “I know all these people and I care so much about them. This place is important to me for so many reasons.”

She is a military veteran who experiences PTSD, she said, and being with the partners at the store lifts her spirits.

“The folks here are so compassionate,” she said.

She usually visits on weekends but stopped in on a weekday after picking up her car from the shop. On weekends, she sits at a table and makes art — intricate, dazzling creations made with tiny diamond-shaped beads.

Today she is trying the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher.

“Oh, that’s good,” she said after a sip.

It also matches her outfit, which is mostly various shades of purple, her favorite color. Purple represents “happiness, empowerment and joy,” she said.

Ready for the afternoon menu

By 2 p.m.,

the menu boards behind Abigail E., a partner at the register, have transitioned to showcase the most popular afternoon offerings: Refreshers, wraps, the Horchata Iced Shaken Espresso and the Unicorn Cake Pop.

Sales of cake pops, cookies, Berry Blondies and slices of Chocolate Pistachio Loaf and Strawberry Matcha Loaf rise in direct correlation to the final bell of nearby schools. So do Refreshers and blended drinks.

By 2:45 p.m.,

the school kids have arrived. A group of high school students are taking an after-school break together before drama club. Friends Kai, Rheandahl, Daniel, Milan and Lincoln, ranging in age from 16 to 18, have all ordered different cold drinks. Rheandahl got a Unicorn Cake Pop. Kai, once a partner at this store, is about to graduate from high school.

But first, this Friday, they have a school performance of “A Midsommer Night’s Dream.”

Making time in the afternoon

At 3 p.m.,

Ron Auerbach pulls out a thick sheaf of papers from his seat on a soft bench along the wall. He says he has learned greetings and common phrases in 20 languages, and the pages are filled with handwritten phonetic pronunciations.

After a teaching career, he now works as a substitute teacher and likes being able to greet students from other countries in their native language as a way to build connection, he says. He is learning Portuguese next.

Today, his laptop is plugged into one of the coffeehouse’s outlets. He is the author of a book on job hunting and is spending the afternoon responding to questions on that topic while drinking a Green Tea Frappuccino.

At 4 p.m.,

Lindsay Perrault and her daughter, Parker, 9, are here celebrating. Lindsay had a job interview today and she felt it went well, so they stopped by for a Marshmallow Dream Bar (for Parker) and an Iced London Fog Latte with Brown Sugar Cold Foam (for Lindsay).

“We like to come for a treat or a pick-me-up,” Perrault said.

Familiar faces in the drive thru

AT 4:40 P.M.,

Jenae T., the partner working the drive thru, calls out, “Hi Susie!” as a car pulls up with a regular afternoon customer — and her two dogs, a chihuahua and a pug.

In the mornings, the drive thru is nonstop busy. For now, though, there is a moment to talk. They talk about Seattle’s baseball team, the Mariners, as Jenae readies her order and two pup cups of whipped cream for the dogs.

Soon after, another customer pulls forward and the two of them chat about their exercise routines.

As the light changes

At 5:20 p.m.,

as the sun deepens in the sky and the busy afternoon turns toward evening – another time of day at the coffeehouse with a flavor all its own – a customer walks in.

“Welcome to Starbucks!” a partner calls.