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You may have heard that February is Breakfast month here at LAist, in which we celebrate the glory that is the morning meal. But our celebration is twinged with sadness for those who may have been fans of the a.m. food fare served up at Starbucks. The company has announced they are ditching their breakfast sandwiches and declaring that their Mission: Lure Customers Back from Fast Food Joints that Sell Breakfast Eats that Include Some Form of Protein was ultimately unsuccessful.
The sandwiches, which are heated up in a press when served, had a more "gourmet" angle than, say, a McGriddle. Foodie site Slashfood reported on a taste-testing when the sandwiches debuted in 2006; the Eggs Florentine with Baby Spinach and Havarti was a favorite, and the Low Fat Turkey Bacon, Cholesterol-free Egg and Reduced Fat Cheddar the least popular. I'll admit I only ever tried one, and one was all it took to set in my mind that breakfast does not equal Starbucks, unless we're talking a muffin with my coffee while waiting to board a plane at LAX. Of course, the one time I rolled through my local drive-thru Starbucks, I picked the grossest one, hoping that having a "healthier" on-the-road breakfast option would be a reality. (I've since taken up eating a packet of oatmeal at my desk when I get to my office in the morning.)
Starbucks says they'll phase out the 'wiches by the end of the year, which will initially cost them, since they actually "boost a typical store's annual revenue by $35,000." Their new plan, which is in the testing stage right now, could be a smaller, cheaper cuppa joe; they're testing "$1 extra-small cups of drip coffee with free refills in some Seattle stores" and are preparing to announce "five bold innovations" at their annual meeting next month, per Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz. They will also open fewer new stores than planned nationally and abroad this year, in response to the country's troubled economy.
So, so long breakfast sandwiches. Now, let's see if you can figure out how to put the sprinkles on your peppermint mochas next holiday season!
Photo by < cleverCl@i®ê > via Flickr
