Reflection: The Four That Got Away

In this marvelous city of 212 Starbucks, there is one thing that surprised me more than most: there are some Starbucks in NYC that are not open to the public. Some are easier to access than others, such as the ones within universities like FIT and Pace. But there are others within private businesses and office buildings that I simply could not pay a visit to. Four, to be exact:

• The Starbucks inside the Limited Brands building at 1740 Broadway
• The Starbucks inside the Burlington House building at 1345 Sixth Avenue
• The Starbucks inside the JP Morgan Chase building at 270 Park Avenue
• The Starbucks within the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street

Each of these buildings have posted security on site during operating hours and entrance is not permitted without a pass to the building or an invitation from one of the businesses within — trust me, I tried. I think it’s fair to say I confused several doormen when declaring the only reason I wanted access to their building was to see the Starbucks inside. No doubt they thought I was crazy, but I wanted to be thorough. I especially wanted to see the Starbucks within the New York Stock Exchange, since it’s such an important part of this country’s economy. I even wrote to the owners of the building, but no luck.

Part of me was — and still is — a little disappointed that there are four Starbucks in this city that I cannot easily pay a visit to. But I’ve sat on this for a while, and come to the conclusion that missing these four locations may be for the best. After all, only those who work there can access them. So even if they are wonderful and spacious, neither me nor anyone else could easily pay them a second visit. I guess it just goes to show you that in a city that thrives on caffeine, a coffee house like Starbucks can easily survive without opening its doors to the public at large.

With four days to spare, this leaves just three Starbucks left for me to visit in Manhattan. Although I’m terribly excited to finish this adventure, part of me is also wondering: where did the year go?

Tags: 11 Wall Street 10005, 1345 Sixth Avenue 10105, 1740 Broadway 10019, 270 Park Avenue 10017, 47th & Park, 55th & 6th, 56th & Broadway, Burlington House Starbucks, JP Morgan Starbucks, Limited Brands Starbucks, Manhattan, New York City, NYC, NYSE Starbucks, reflection, Wall & New