A nice, clean cafe opposing EV chargers is a great plus since I drive two electric vehicles, and I'm a member of the RVA drive electric (look us up!). This cafe instantly became our go-to meeting spot and a great place to enjoy the iconic experience while our cars charge, a Win-Win.
Now let's dive into the gruesome details and what made this place a 4-star :)
As you approach the cafe, it is located at the corner of the building, and the entire corner is dedicated to the wall-sized glass panels granting you a magnificent view of the modern outdoors of Libbie Mill; this location also tends to attract the latest sass, and they always get your order right no matter how complicated, a signature experience.
The Pros:
- Most of the staff is gay. I'm not sure if you knew, but Starbucks is liberal AF and hiring LGBT members shows that they are with the times; as a moderate republican rare breed, I enjoy the atmosphere of professional employees who are happy and well paid regardless of the colour of their hair or whom they love because freedom is defined by not judging others; this is what we fought for in this country.
- If you know Feng Shui, you will appreciate the angle of light and the placement of the plants as well as the furniture layout; you can tell that great effort was put to account for the details in selecting and designing this place!
- Experiment with your drink! If you're paying the premium price, you can swap what you don't like, food is always fresh, and Wifi+Power sockets are always available; this place is bigger than other Starbucks and has 36 spots to choose from, and 13 of them have access to power and USB power outlets!
- It is always clean, and the bathrooms too! Wet Wipes are available, so you can wipe your table extra time if you're a germaphobe ;)
The Cons:
The acoustic engineers failed at dampening the echo because of the Steel-Glass layout. The sound-proofing ceiling panels cannot absorb the loud noises of machines and the voices of everyone, traditionally, Starbucks isn't the quiet place you expect but it put 20+ people here, and it becomes very noisy; Please install additional sound-absorbing panels on the outter pillar wall and the counter to bring the noise down to acceptible levels. I recommend anyone with sensetive ears to bring a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. read more