Starbucks Is Bringing Back A Classic Café Feature In 2025

Since the onboarding of its new CEO, Brian Niccol, in August 2024, Starbucks is set to implement a long list of new initiatives — many of which revolve around the chief executive's mission to distinguish the brand as a quality coffeehouse. While that does mean you should expect fewer Starbucks discounts by the 2024 holidays, it also means you can look forward to some major improvements to the overall Starbucks experience. That's especially as it pertains to those who visit in store, as Niccol sets out to make some crucial culture shifts and bring back a classic café feature that many of its customers have missed since it disappeared in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic: the condiment bar.

Beginning in 2025, the coffee chain is set to restore its self-service condiment bar stations — stocked with milk and creamer, sugar and alternative sweeteners, napkins, utensils, and condiments — to thousands of its U.S. cafe locations. The decision is part of the CEO's overall mission to improve customer service, but also better the Starbucks baristas' work experience. "Our customers are asking for it, and our baristas are saying it would help them deliver the speed of service that they want to provide," Niccol explained in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. 

So, while you might be paying full price for your order going forward, you'll at least be able to help yourself to extra packets of Starbucks sriracha and napkins. You can also sleep better at night knowing that Niccol has pledged not to raise menu prices any more over the coming year.

Starbucks was hardly the only establishment to close condiment bars during the pandemic, but it's been a hot point of notice for customers faced with steadily rising prices. So, despite the reduction in promotional offerings, its return seems to soften the blow for regulars — and drip coffee drinkers especially — allowing them the freedom to determine exactly how much milk and sugar goes into their cup. One of them, a 77-year-old Florida native named Dick Hallion, told The Wall Street Journal that he was excited about the news: "I love the wooden stir sticks and the chance to have an extra napkin or two," he said. But it's also a saving grace for Starbucks baristas.

When Starbucks ditched the condiment bars back in 2021, they believed it'd help reduce the spread of germs, encourage employee connection with customers, and prevent waste — but baristas knew full and well what it would mean for them. The amount of milk and sugar that goes into any one cup differs from one coffee drinker to the next, and getting it right as a barista is not only a guessing game, but a timely one. Starbucks baristas on Reddit called it a way for corporate to save money while putting more pressure on them, and others just found it irritating to constantly have to stop what they're doing to hand out straws and stoppers to people. Surely, the return of vanished Starbucks self-serve creamers will be a welcomed one for them, too.