At the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, you’ll find Starbucks’ new store with old look. Inspired by 1900s’ Merchant Stores, a new store just beyond the historic French Quarter, new space is handiwork of few local artists. Designed to resemble an old-fashioned apothecary store, the front room, where the merchant would have worked, features floor-to-ceiling shelves behind a large coffee bar.
Local sculptor David Borgerding built chandeliers from old wrought iron gates to honor the city’s mercantile roots, while other local artist Jason Horton created paintings of coffee beans on small block canvases that are on the shelves. The 12 block paintings above the bar to showcase the story of coffee from bean to cup are artwork by Cherrylion Studios and Mystic Blue Signs took care for the hand painted gold leaf signs on the store windows and coffee jars.
That’s the front room, but in contrast, the back room of the store was designed to look like the merchant’s living space, offering a much more relaxed atmosphere. With vintage schoolhouse chairs around huge tables made from wind-fallen trees, a large mural depicting the city’s shipping heritage, created by the artist Tommy Taylor, this is a comfortable place to work and socialize.
Starbucks Canal Street New Orleans is a quite nice replica of Louisianan old-fashioned space which reflects the history and ongoing commitment to New Orleans.
