One of the inevitable pangs of living in New York is being stuck in a Starbucks restroom line with a homeless person inside. You can literally be waiting 15-20 minutes while someone bathes, changes clothes, shoots up drugs, talks to themselves… you name it. I feel I’ve been pretty fortunate in my journeys at having avoided this situation; however, today I was not so lucky. I knew I’d be waiting a while in line at the Starbucks on 42nd and 3rd when I heard the toilette flush every 20 or 30 seconds for two-minutes straight. Five minutes later, I was still waiting. Clearly, I wasn’t surprised when the homeless man staggered out. I simply held my nose and dived in after him.
Other than my restroom wait — which can happen at an Starbucks in the city — I found the 42nd & 3rd Starbucks to be welcoming enough. It has plenty of space. It’s well lit. And I caught the line in a lull and barely had to wait. Most of the seating was taken, but it’s not because the crowd was abnormally large. It just seems that there is not enough seating to fill this spacious Starbucks. 10-20 more seats could easily be strategically placed throughout. But then maybe they’d have to put in a second restroom.
The Good:
The Location… On 42nd street in Midtown-East — meaning you bump into business people and not tourists.
The Size… A surprisingly spacious Starbucks. There’s a seating area in the front as well as a half-wall that separates the barista bar line from another seating area.
The Bad:
The Seating… There is actually a good amount, but there is tons of empty space that could easily be filled with more. Space is expensive here in NYC so I don’t see why you would waste any.
The Restroom… Just the one.
Barista Friendliness:
Drink of Choice:
Grande Iced Coffee.
Overall Starbucks Rating:
A large and spacious Starbucks off 42nd street. I kid you not.
Starbucks and the City 
I went there on Saturday before class. The two baristas working were super friendly and chatty. There was no line though, so I’m sure that had something to do with it. They actually had the time to chat.
Still not sure I like it as much as my Union Square one…