June 11, 2024
Written By: J.Couch
I dropped Heather off early one morning at the airport to fly out. It was about 5:00 to 5:30 in the morning, so I decided that might be the perfect time to head down to Pike’s Place, wander around, and take pictures. One of the other things that I had in mind was that the original Starbucks might not be as crowded this early in the morning. This is the first Starbucks that opened here in 1971, offering whole-bean coffee, tea, and spices from around the world for Pikes Place visitors to take home. But from what I can find online, this is actually the second store which is located at 1912 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101. The original store was located at 2000 Western Avenue for the first five years. But there is no building there and that area is now just a small park.
My mother-in-law wanted one of their “Been There” travel cups from there which would give me a good opportunity to go buy that as well. I found a place to park close by which was a lot easier at 5:30 in the morning than it was on a weekend. I walked over and found that Starbucks didn’t open till 6:00 so I had a little time to kill.
I wandered around Pike’s Place Market and found it was a ghost town other than a few vendors that were starting for the day, unloading their supplies. It was a perfect opportunity to explore and take pictures when nobody was around.
I made my way back to the Starbucks and found that there was already a line waiting at the door to get in. I jumped in line and waited, which moved fairly quickly. Most people were there to get a coffee, get in and out. They only let a few people in at a time, mainly because there’s not a whole lot of room in that store for more than about 15 people. I ordered a coffee and got one of their travel mugs for us and Heather’s mom.
I took my coffee and walked around more, exploring side allies and areas that normally have hundreds if not thousands of people walking around. On average, they get 15 million people a year that come through here. It’s kind of a neat experience to be down there and hardly more than a dozen people walking around. I know that most people don’t have that option or desire to get up that early to be down there but if you do, don’t pass up the opportunity to explore.
Thanks for wandering with us,
The Wandering Couchs
