Just another cookie cutter franchise store? No. The Widok Starbucks sets itself apart with its Ambercrombie Bungalow inspired interior and elite barrista task force.
Conveniently located in a nest of ambassadorial buildings - i.e. The Swedish Embassy (H&M) and The American Consulate (Burger King and KFC) - right next to the popular Rotunda building and the underground Metro Centrum tunnels, the Widok Starbucks is one of the most well located representatives of the Seattle coffee juggernaut in Warsaw.
The dark-wood coffee house has a Hollister store-front vibe that suggests the interior, while representing a groovy West Coast Cali surfer bungalow, will (for some inexplicable reason) reek of sleepy, floral perfume, spritzed over the goods like holy water by a heavy-handed anorexic part-time model. Yet, when one actually enters the Widok Starbucks, the rich scent of coffee beans permeates the air. Abercrombie undertones do, however, remain in the well-worn leather my-father-has-a-stuffed-rhino-head-in-his-den chairs and the other I'm-more- rich-and-attractive-than-you American vintage furniture and knick knacks common to all Starbucks, selected in an effort to comfort those patrons who have given the coffee house its reputation as a home away from home for hipster writers.
Of course, I had to visit the Widok Starbucks - wearing my Uggs, Raybans, and the skiny jeans I bought that barely make it over my ankles - because its PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON wooooo! Although I'm not what most would consider a "woo girl" there are some things in this world that make every girl a woo girl and after Ryan Gosling and Bachelorette Parties that would be Pumpkin Spice Season (at least from my experience). Perhaps you aren't familiar with the Pumpkin Spice phenomenon. Let me enlighten you.
Pumpkin Spice Season starts at the beginning of autumn (so in September) and lasts until Thanksgiving in the States (last Thursday in November) after that everything switches over to Christmas flavors (Candy Cane or peppermint and Hot Chocolate). Millenials especially love Pumpkin Spice for this reason - it's a limited time only phenomenon and it appeals to our novelty seaking entitled personas. Pumpkin Spice is a comibination of spices and other additives that have nothing to do with pumpkin. The flavors fused together include the dominate spices in pumpkin pie recipies: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The other additives include "chemicals" which induce palatal sensations associated with pumpkin pie - creaminess for example. During this season in the States, virtually everything ends up dusted, flavored, dipped, or smothered in pumpkin spice. Yet, the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks remains the iconic staple of the seasonal phenomenon.
As far as the Widok barrista elite goes, this is the one Starbucks in Warsaw where they actually write your name on the cups in true Starbuckian style. I chose the pseudonym "Rebecca" for my most recent cup of hot steaming joe. Who will you be?
*Disclaimer - I do not actually own a pair of Uggs. read more