Starbucks stores when initially designed, where intended to fill the need for a "third space" outside of home and work. Not everyone wanted to hangout at a bar.

Starbucks stores when initially designed, where intended to fill the need for a "third space" outside of home and work. Not everyone wanted to hangout at a bar. And not every city and town had such spaces. Which is why Starbucks worked. People paid for that space not really for the coffee.