Global coffee chain Starbucks added two new elements to its rich business picture on Monday, March 19, both of which refer to the company’s affiliates. Yesterday, Seattle’s Best Coffee opened its first drive-thru concept café to offer a range of items including coffee beverages, sandwiches freshly-baked food and snacks to commuters in Northlake, Ill, the suburban Chicago neighborhood, almost round the clock 24/7. The city became the first location where the new concept venue with an easy-to-navigate menu board design and straightforward pricing was opened, and it will serve as “a learning lab for the brand as it evolves its retail presence to meet the growing demand for premium coffee on-the-go,” writes the press release.

Photo: Seattle’s Best Coffee’s drive-thru cafe

According to the note, the brand will source real-time results from the concept café to improve the menu in other nearly100 cafés and will also take these consumer preferences into consideration in developing menus for future locations. The design of the new drive-thru venue is definitely inspired by a hot cup of freshly-brewed coffee since the front panel has numerous holes of various sizes and looks like coffee foam.

“We’ve designed all elements of this concept with a focus on world-class drive-thru service and because of our history as a coffeehouse brand we can also guarantee the highest-quality coffee and food with a smile. In this location we’re debuting our revamped coffee and food menu based on what customers have told us is important,” said Jim McDermet, senior vice president and general manager of Seattle’s Best Coffee.

On March 19, Starbucks, parent of Seattle’s Best Coffee, also opened a first upscale brand store Evolution Fresh in Bellevue, Washington that will be focused on fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and healthy food, such as oatmeal, wraps, salads and soups (vegetarian and vegan options available). According to the press release, they have also transformed «the brand’s look and feel to better reflect the pure, natural ingredients in each beverage and its strategic expansion and growth.» The giant purchased the little-known Evolution Fresh juice company back in November 2011, to step into the growing market of natural and fresh juice offerings and capitalize on the ‘healthy’ trend, which is now on the rise in the US.

Photo: Evolution Fresh store