Highland has a shiny new Starbucks! Woohoo!
Located in the newly-developed Highland Crossroads Plaza and right across the street from Lowe's on Greenspot Road, this Starbucks location is among the best locations I've come across in a long time. It's situated for perfect freeway access right near the 5th Street off/on ramps on the 210 Freeway leading to Redlands. The plaza is still in development, with this location and Chipotle being the only stores open. However, soon Corky's, Stater Bros, Costco, Dave's Hot Chicken, Ono Hawaiian BBQ, and more will be keeping it company.
This location opened just last week, so the wifey and I were really excited to pay a visit; as well as a little nervous. Both of the other Highland locations have been remodeled with alarming results. Most of the seating had been removed and all of the wall outlets to charge devices had been covered over. The resulting atmosphere was not conducive to work or study and very much projected an off-putting vibe.
Walking into their Greenspot location, nothing could be further from the truth! First off, this is one of the roomiest Starbucks I've seen in quite a while. The lobby is airy and spacious with about a dozen tables as well as long desks and plenty of chairs. What's more, there are plenty of power outlets all over for people to use to settle down for some studying, collaboration or any other kind of work. I mentioned my delight about this to the manager on duty and she smiled and told me they very much intend for this location to be very community-focused. This is the way Starbucks started, after all! The lobby also featured two gender-neutral bathrooms which were not code-locked.
The location also has a nice sizable outside patio on which to enjoy your selections in the warmer months of the year.
All of this is well and good, but you might ask.... how are their drinks? Having been here twice I can say that the drinks my family and have ordered have been well-made and delicious every time. My first time here I ordered a Dragon Driink and the second, a Dirty Chai Latte. My wife ordered a White Mocha each time. They were never disappointing. They also had a plentiful selection of baked goods and grab-and-go food items. The music in the lobby was also at just the right volume, not as loud as it can be at other locations.
Oh, and its drive-thru line is looooooooooooooong! It starts on the other side of the Corky's that's going in next door. Plenty of time to think about what you want to order.
My only minor complaint so far is the drive-thru lane exits right in front of the store. This is similar to the Eureka/Stuart location in Redlands. The cars come out right near the front of the store where the handicapped parking spots are. It requires some situational awareness when pulling out of the parking spots.
Very important to note is that the workers and baristas here were all very friendly and eager to help and make suggestions - always appreciated.
Say what you will about Starbucks. Some people love them and others do not so much. Either way, this location is off to a strong start. It will be very interesting to see how the location evolves and holds up as the plaza it's in becomes more developed and busy. read more