Fast Food Watch: First Look at the New 24-Hour Starbucks in Tai Koo Li South

Insomniacs, night owls, and vampires unite: your prayers for an all-night coffee venue in Sanlitun were answered Monday evening at 8pm, with Starbucks reopening its Tai Koo Li South location, not in its previous, submarine-like site, but in a new, two-story, 24-hour space.

One of two new "flagship stores" the coffee giant opened in Beijing Monday -- the other is a "coffee tribute store" opened in the Kerry Center -- this "eclectic chic" location, as it was dubbed in a Starbucks press release, was on its way into its first endless night when visited by the Beijinger. In this case, "eclectic" appears to be synonymous with "wood." There's a lot of wood here. The tables in many cases are what seem to be giant tree stumps, or knee-high slices of log.

Compared to the previous single-floor location, it's hard not to notice how bright and big the new incarnation is. It's the usual line-up of drinks, although juices and non-coffee cold drinks are now in an iced tub to the left of the entrance, not in the glass case along with food. Prices are the same as at other locations. There's ample ground-floor, bar-like seating, which for Sanlitun should make everyone feel right at home.

There's free Wi-fi, which requires a Chinese mobile phone number to register, but not one from any particular mobile provider. Users enter their number in a pop-up window, then receive a passcode via SMS. Plugs are plentiful, especially along the walls, for eclectic laptop nomads.

Upstairs, customers may also order -- finally there's something on the second floor of this mall that might make people stop. This is where most seating is, including a about 12 seats of tables and chairs or big loveseats outdoors. These were full when we visited, a situation that will likely last well into November.  Most curious, Starbucks plans to use the upstairs as a performance venue. It will be interesting to see what the coffee purveyors choose as musical acts.

"On the weekend, live music fills the second floor of the store, called ‘Club 1971,’ in honor of the year that Starbucks was founded; bringing people together and giving aspiring musicians a stage to showcase their talent," Starbucks said in its release. Read it; it is the biggest, red-hot pile of steaming corporate bullsh#t that we have read in a long time. Starbucks PR, next time, try this: "Starbucks, Sanlitun, 24 hours, lots of seating, open now."

Images: the Beijinger.