Last week I received an email notice that on April 8 at 12pm EST / 9pam PST Starbucks would be unveiling something big. Venti Big. That’s it – no indication of what was happening. Browsing several forums it seems nobody else knows (or is telling if they do). Some people are speculating it will be the introduction of Pike Place Blend Coffee as their standard selection instead of offering multiple coffees per week. Others think that on Tuesday Starbucks is rolling something else out.
The leading guess seems to be that Starbucks may introduce doughnuts on that date. This seems strange since the chain is in the process of removing all the sandwiches from their stores. Perhaps doughnuts are more compatible with the coffee shop atmosphere?
According to the Seattlepi.com article:
Top Pot Doughnuts, a small Seattle chain that caught the attention of Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz more than four years ago, is going national thanks to its growing relationship with the coffee company.
On April 8, Top Pot is slated to be in all company-owned Starbucks Corp. stores in 50 states, the companies said Thursday.
“This is a big, big leap for us and something we are really proud of,” said Mark Klebeck, one of Top Pot’s three co-founders.
Klebeck said Top Pot currently is in about 5,000 Starbucks locations in 25 states.
Update 4/8/08 – Received the following in my email this morning. Looks like the freebie is the Pike Place Coffee – 8 oz:
So if you’re in the area of a Starbucks on Tuesday April 8, 2008 around Noon (Eastern Time) or 9am Pacific – take a look and enjoy a free cup of Pike Place.
