I like Starbucks, and I love this location. Unfortunately the concept here is dragging its feet. This is my Starbucks go-to, due to its convenience for me. I was elated when it opened, and it deserves a trophy for often waking me up in the morning with its dark roast selections. Situated in the beautiful Matrix hotel, with its clean lined design and wrap around windows this coffeehouse has so much potential, in fact it could easily be the best Starbucks in Edmonton, if not one of the best in the entire Starbucks chain.... but only if it manages to fix itself. In the 6 years it has been open, the quality of service as well as the consistency of the beverages and the food have been steadily nosediving. It's a staffing problem. Though every barista behind the counter is exceptionally kind, friendly, and greets each patron with a genuine smile, the dizzying turn over of (evidently unexperienced) staff creates painfully slow service, and beverage and food inconsistencies. I feel for the management faced with this problem, and hope they can find, train, and retain the level of experienced staff that is required for such a high volume location. Again, this spot has so much potential, they have just completed a new Reno that seems to have tripled their seating, and this is THE place in Edmonton for celebrity sightings... from international recording artists, to big name Hollywood actors, the Matrix is where they all stay while passing through town on projects. And this is where they grab their Starbucks coffee. read more