What do you get when you cross Starbucks with mediocrity?
You get Black Rock Coffee Bar.
Black Rock follows the Starbucks formula like a dedicated wannabe.
The espresso is worse.
Given the fact that Starbucks espresso is godawful ...
That is an impressive accomplishment.
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The interior decorating is far worse.
To understand what is wrong with Black Rock's room design,
You have to think a little bit about what interior decorating does for a retail restaurant chain.
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Restaurants can either be energizing or calming.
You want energizing if you are either selling fun or you need you need high turnover so you can sell high volume.
A little kid pizza palace needs to be fun, so all the kids beg their parents to take them to your establishment.
Fast food needs to be high turnover. You are selling burgers or whatever at very low margins. So you need those customers in the door then out the door so new ones can come in and buy more stuff.
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The classic success story in energizing interior decorating is McDonald's.
Never mind the arch part - although to be fair that was a touch of trademark defining genius.
The bright lights, and the white red and yellow are tremendously energizing.
You come in - you get peppy - you eat fast - you get out fast.
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Starbucks is one of the great classics in calming interior decorating.
Starbucks wants you to come in with your computer, or come in with a friend with whom you want to have a soulful conversation.
In both cases, you will be staying there a long time.
There is a little bit of a build the tab logic. If you stay there long enough, you will order a second drink or another snack.
But mostly that tranquility is what made you come to Starbucks in the first place.
You would not have had that writing session or that soulful conversation in a McDonalds.
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How does Starbucks accomplish this visually?
Their color scheme is one of the great accomplishments of corporate interior decorating.
Natural woods. Light grays. Dark green accents.
You slow down immediately on entering.
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The Black Rock Interior Decorators missed the larger economic logic of what they are trying to accomplish.
They decorated in energetic and perky ...
With bright colors and and even brighter fluorescent lights.
There is nothing visually mellow about Black Rock.
The bright perky colors do what bright perky colors do.
They make the customer feel energetic.
So feeling energetic, I got up and left.
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To be fair, having just drunk an awful espresso helped with the got up and left part.
The caffeine made me energetic.
The hating my coffee made me want to get out of there.
That said, there was more to this than just the coffee.
Starbucks espresso has just as much caffeine as does a Black Rock espresso.
The room is what keeps you sitting in your chair.
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I suspect their sweet and elaborate drinks are just fine.
I did not have one so I do not know.
But I go to coffee houses to get work done.
The fact that I can get a Mocha Raspberry Figatooti for a beverage is a side point.
There are lots of places that will sell me a Mocha Raspberry Figatooti.
I go shopping for a room that will remove distractions and maximize my clarity of thought.
Nothing maximizes your clarity of thought at a Black Rock Coffee. read more