Would they, could they on a train? Why yes, apparently. Taking the oft-bemoaned ubiquity of the coffee chain to a whole new level, Starbucks' latest foray into high-concept cafe design is an entire double-decker train car running from Geneva Airport to the Swiss city of St. Gallen, equipped with windowed bar seats, leather chairs, and mood lighting. Aside from being the first in-locomotive Starbucks, this, ah, branch is also the only one with a dedicated waitstaff, presumably to keep commuters from losing their seats when placing orders. Or maybe—just a guess here—because the idea of people milling about on an accelerating train with steaming lattes in hand sounds like a lawsuit in the making.
Among the many other preventative measures necessary to bring this moving coffeehouse to fruition are no-brainers, like giving the wooden tables and bars a textured finish to prevent spillage, along with the more demanding task of conforming to the litany of regulations governing railcar design. In one colorful aside about fire safety, the director of concept design for Starbucks, talks about what must have been one of the more exciting days on the project: "You design a new chair, maybe one version is light cream and one in dark cream. You build eight of each, they set them afire, and if you have a high score, you pass."
· This Train Is Hiding A Full Starbucks Store Inside [Co.Design]
· All Starbucks coverage [Curbed National]
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