Starbucks is bringing back the old-school features that customers have been asking for for years: ‘I miss those days’

Starbucks is going back to the future.

The coffee giant is making big changes, bringing back old-school self-service stations and comfortable seating in its stores amid sluggish sales figures.

Starbucks ditched the stations, which had milk, sugar, sweeteners, spices and mixers, during the COVID pandemic, leaving extra work for busy baristas and slowing service times.

Now, new CEO Brian Niccol — who took the helm back in September — is re-implementing the self-service stations that customers have been clamoring to bring back for years.

“Remember when we poured our milk at Starbucks? I miss those days,” one customer wrote nostalgically on X earlier this month.

“When Starbucks closed the spice bars during COVID, the job of personalization shifted to the baristas behind the counter,” David Garfield, global head of industries at consulting firm AlixPartners, told CNN. “This caused delays.”

By early 2025, all Starbucks locations will again have self-serve stations in an effort to take the burden off baristas — which appears to be part of a larger theme for the chain, which admits Starbucks overworked them baristas with endless different ways to prepare one. drink.

“Our goal is to make sure our bartenders have the time to not only provide great craft brews, but also hospitality,” a Starbucks spokesperson told CNN.

“We’re bringing back the coffee bar because both our customers are asking for it and our baristas say it would help them provide the speed of service they want to provide,” said new CEO Brian Niccol.

Adding self-serve stations is just one of the ways Starbucks is taking the heat away from baristas.

When Niccol took over the chain on Sept. 9, he noted that one of his priorities to accelerate growth at the company is to simplify the “overly complex” menu so bartenders can speed up service.

Menu items that are departing include Starbucks’ olive oil drinks, which were only available for one year. These controversial drinks were officially removed from the menu on November 7.

The company is also bringing back Sharpies, having bartenders handwrite customers’ names on their drinks.

They will also bring comfortable chairs to some of its stores, further giving some Starbucks locations an old-school vibe where customers can sit for hours while relaxing or doing remote work.