14 Things To Know Before Ordering At A Barnes & Noble Starbucks

As a former barista, we've worked at a few different coffee shops — and, yes, that does include both Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. Whether you're looking to become a barista that makes Starbucks drinks or just want to shop at either one of the two chains, there are a few key differences you should know about (just like the differences between Starbucks and Target Starbucks).

Believe it or not, Barnes & Noble Starbucks aren't actually Starbucks cafes at all. They're Barnes & Noble cafes that serve Starbucks drinks. That might not seem like a big difference, but it actually makes some major changes in the way that Barnes & Noble cafes operate, even when compared to other not-quite-Starbucks brands like the pricier Target Starbucks or Walmart Starbucks. Want to know how to save money, order your favorite drinks, and understand even the smallest differences between a regular Starbucks and the cafe inside your local Barnes & Noble? We're ready to spill all the secrets about the two brands, so read on.

Barnes & Noble proudly serves Starbucks drinks, but it doesn't have the ability to serve Starbucks food, so you'll have to miss out on our favorite Starbucks lunch sandwich. Instead, all Barnes & Nobles will serve its very own brand of food. Some stores will carry a select amount of pre-packaged food from other brands, but you'll also find a well-stocked pastry case (and possibly some hot food items) that are exclusive to Barnes & Noble.

Some Barnes & Noble stores have restaurants inside of them, which will give you access to a whole host of sit-down meal items — from avocado toast to burgers. Older models of Barnes & Noble (you know, the ones with the carpeted floors) will have a pastry case, sandwiches, and usually a rotation of hot soups. The newest Barnes & Nobles models can vary — not every Barnes & Noble has enough room for a cafe, after all — but can range from the full menu to a pastry case where you'll find croissants, brownies, and other pre-baked items.

At Barnes & Noble, you're likely to see a significant focus on upselling you throughout your cafe purchase. Barnes & Noble has an emphasis on selling to customers, whether they're buying books or coffee. Though this has significantly decreased in the past several years (customers of past Barnes & Nobles locations might remember booksellers who were forced to go through a long membership spiel during each transaction), your local Barnes & Noble barista may or may not still try to upsell you on certain drinks.

Some baristas don't care about upselling you, but managers especially will try to hit certain quotas by getting you to change the size of your drink. Some sales tactics include asking you if you want to add shots, syrups, or nondairy milks, recommending complementary pastry items, or even trying to mislead you about what size is the smallest. If you order a grande (16 ounces), they might hold up a venti (24 ounces) and ask you if that's the size you want. If you're misled into saying yes, you'll be paying extra for your drink. This is especially true for people who don't understand Starbucks sizing or don't know what drink is actually the smallest size.

We're certainly not trying to say that all Barnes & Noble locations are untrustworthy, but there's no harm in familiarizing yourself with the sizes of each drink before you go to one. Make sure you know what you want and what your drink comes with when you order at a Barnes & Noble cafe.

Since Barnes & Nobles serves Starbucks drinks, that means the brand's cafes also adheres to Starbucks sizing. You'll find the exact same cup sizes that Starbucks uses, but with the Barnes & Noble logo on them. The sizes that both Barnes & Noble and Starbucks have are small (which is used for hot drinks only), tall, grande, venti, and trenta (which is available with iced drinks only).

To keep things consistent across both brands, Barnes & Noble baristas also use Starbucks' specialty names for all cup sizes. At your local coffee shop, you'd be ordering a 12-ounce latte instead of a "tall," but this isn't the case for Barnes & Nobles, where the baristas will already be following the original Starbucks names for each drink size.

One of the best things about buying a drink at your local Barnes & Noble cafe is that you're very likely to get a coupon on your receipt. It is usually for $1 off drinks (or $1 off certain menu items) for the next time you make a purchase at a Barnes and Noble within a set time frame. The receipt will usually give you around a week to redeem it. This is actually a huge bonus for customers who visit Barnes & Noble regularly.

This receipt is also a solid replacement for Starbucks Stars — Starbucks' version of rewards points, which can only be earned at official Starbucks stores. Since you won't be earning Starbucks points for any of the drinks you buy at Barnes & Noble, it's a good way to ensure you still get money back on your next drink purchase.

As a Starbucks employee (or "partner," as the brand calls its baristas), you might be wondering whether you can use your partner discount at Barnes & Noble. All Starbucks partners are entitled to 30% off on all of their orders. However, because Barnes & Noble is a brand that's separate from Starbucks, the partner discount doesn't work there.

If you work at Barnes & Noble, however (not just at the cafe!), you'll get a different discount on every Barnes & Noble drink you purchase. Barnes & Noble employee discounts change frequently, but they usually hover at around 20% to 30% off cafe menu items. This applies to all menu items while you're on your shift or after work, too. Unfortunately for Barnes & Noble baristas, they don't qualify for a Starbucks discount, either — making the two locations completely separate as far as employee discounts go.

Drink tickets are handy for both baristas and customers, because it gives them an idea of what exactly they ordered. Your drink ticket is a printed sticker with the drink you ordered and the modifications you asked for on it — it gets placed right onto the side of your cup for you and your barista to see. If you're worried that your barista might have forgotten a modification you made, you can just double-check your ticket to make sure it was entered into the cash register properly. At Barnes & Noble, however, these ticketing systems don't exist. Instead, your barista will write directly onto your cup.

To make things faster, Barnes & Nobles barista use barista shorthand to tell each other (and remind themselves) what drinks to make. The barista at the cash register will take the cup in the size you ordered and mark it with letters as you order. There will be blank boxes on your cup for drink types, syrups, and milk types. If you ordered almond milk, for example, you should see an "A" written in the milk box. If you ordered a latte, you'll see an "L" in the drink type box.

If you didn't make any swaps to your drink's ingredients, then only the drink type will be written, and your barista will follow the drink's basic recipe for milks and syrups. Knowing this system will give you the chance to make sure you get exactly what you ordered. You'll mostly just be looking for abbreviations for whatever you ordered on the cup — like a V for vanilla syrup, for example.

Your local Barnes & Noble is probably used to dealing with a rush or two throughout the day, but the way that each store ensures its cafe is staffed might surprise you. During an emergency, a major rush, or if your store is temporarily understaffed, you might notice that a bookseller — an employee helping customers in the main part of the floor — will rush over to help out in the cafe. You might also see this happen if the barista on shift needs to take a break, and there aren't enough employees available to cover them.

So, why should this matter to you? For one thing, this is a solid explanation for why some locations seem to be a little slower during rushes. Booksellers are trained to work in the cafe, but they likely won't have quite as much cafe experience as your typical Barnes & Noble barista. After all, the primary part of their job is to sell books, so they won't be working in the cafe as often as the rest of the full-time barista team.

It's actually very normal at many Barnes & Noble stores for booksellers to be specially cross-trained to fill both barista and bookseller roles. This is just something that's helpful to know if you're wondering why it seems like your local Barnes & Noble always has a new cashier — they might just be a bookseller filling in.

Official Starbucks locations have a minimum number of baristas who must be on shift for the cafe to be open (this is usually a minimum of two to four baristas depending on the size of the location). However, Barnes & Noble may not always follow these same rules. In many Barnes & Noble cafes, you might only see one barista working — especially when opening or closing the store.

This means that the lines at Barnes & Noble cafes will probably be longer, and your drink will be made more slowly, too. This happens no matter how much of an expert the barista behind the counter is; because they have to both take orders and then run over and make the drinks before they can move onto the next customer, there's bound to be a wait even if you're the only person in the cafe.

If you notice that your local Barnes & Nobles is moving a little slowly, you can always consider ordering a pastry instead of a drink. This way, your barista can just reach into the pastry case and package your item for you right while they're at the counter. You can also purchase from the grab-and-go section to get your items right away.

In the past, Barnes & Noble cafe baristas were forbidden from soliciting tips in any form — including by just having the tip jar out on the counter. However, policies changed in 2024 to allow customers the option to tip their Barnes & Noble baristas — meaning you should also know how much to tip your barista. Tips are split up amongst baristas based on the amount of hours they worked, so your tip won't go straight to your barista right away. Rest assured, though, that any money you tip your Barnes & Noble baristas stays within the cafe.

You'll be able to tip both with cash and by card when you pay at your local Barnes & Noble cafe. If you're a barista there, however, you'll only receive tips that are rolled into your paycheck, so you won't ever be given any physical cash. This is different to how Starbucks works with cash tips — by giving employees cash from the physical tip pool directly.

Lastly, Barnes & Noble has one policy with tipping to ensure your tip goes to the baristas who regularly work in the cafe. If a barista is covering the cafe floor for less than 30 minutes, they won't receive any tips. This mostly applies to booksellers who quickly take over while another barista is on break, for example.

If you've been shopping around at Barnes & Noble and are getting thirsty, you don't have to brave the book counter before you go grab a drink. Not only can you bring books and magazines into all Barnes & Noble cafes, you can also check them out there, too. As a matter of fact, you'll usually find a Barnes & Noble "book of the month" recommendation at the cafe counter that is on sale, which you'll be encouraged to purchase with your drink if it interests you.

If you're not buying a book that's already at the cafe register, we'd recommend sticking to a relatively small number of books when you check out at the cafe counter to avoid overwhelming the line; some baristas may ask you to check out at the bookseller's counter if they're too backed up. All Barnes & Noble registers, however, are the same — so as long as you don't have too many items with you, your booksellers can scan your books and ring you up at the same time as you order your drinks. You also technically don't even have to order a drink at the cafe counter when you go there to check out with your books. This is a handy way to skip the line when the bookseller counters are especially busy.

Starbucks partners receive free drinks while they work, and they also get one free food item per day when they have a shift. Barnes & Noble, on the other hand, does not typically offer free food or drinks to baristas on shift. Instead, the brand offers about a 30% discount to all of its employees across the entire store (this discount fluctuates from time to time), which includes all cafe menu items. There are certain drink items that employees are allowed to get for free, which includes drinks like plain iced or hot coffees and plain tea.

However, let's be honest — Barnes & Noble baristas aren't working there for the free drinks. They're there for the discount on books, of course! Not only does the 30% employee discount apply to every book in the store, it can sometimes jump up to 50% off, especially during the holiday season. That's a huge amount of savings for bookworms who work at Barnes & Noble.

Each Barnes & Noble cafe will run its own promotions, all of which can be completely different from the deals Starbucks offers. If you're used to relying on the Starbucks app for the best coupons and offers, don't forget to check your local Barnes & Noble's social media pages to see what drink discounts they might be offering. Barnes & Noble cafes are more likely than official Starbucks stores are to offer discounts and deals on limited-edition menu items, and they may also decide to run random drink promotions from time to time, too. These are most commonly $1 off certain drinks.

This also means that you won't find special Starbucks deals in Barnes & Noble cafes, either. Starbucks' annual Red Cup Day doesn't apply to Barnes & Noble cafes, and you won't find free Starbucks straws available during the summer at Barnes & Noble, either.

As much as we wish you could use the Starbucks app to order ahead at your local Barnes & Noble, that's a no-go for all Barnes & Noble cafes. That's because they're two completely different companies, so the Starbucks app isn't compatible with Barnes & Noble's cafe systems. There is no mobile ordering, earning Starbucks stars, or using Starbucks gift cards at Barnes & Noble cafes, regardless of whether you have the Starbucks app or not.

Your next best bet would be to become a Barnes & Noble Rewards member. This is the only way to consistently earn rewards points through Barnes & Noble to apply to your cafe purchases. Otherwise, you should be on the lookout for coupons and promotions at your local Barnes & Noble cafe — this is the best way to score deals and discounts on drinks that rival the same savings you'd get from collecting Starbucks Stars.

Let's talk Barnes & Noble rewards. Just because you can't use your Starbucks app at Barnes & Noble doesn't mean that you won't have access to some amazing rewards programs — even at the Barnes & Noble cafe. The first option is to become a Rewards member, which is completely free. You'll get a snazzy little Rewards card, after which you'll begin collecting "stamps" on each purchase you make. Each $10 you spend, you get one stamp. Every 10 stamps gets you a $5 reward. Simple, right? The rewards you earn through Barnes & Noble's Rewards program can not only be applied to your book purchases, but also to your cafe orders, too. This is a great way to get super cheap meals and drinks at your local Barnes & Noble.

But if you're a frequent Barnes & Noble visitor, you might be more interested in the Premium Barnes & Noble membership. This nets you 10% off your Barnes & Noble purchases — including those you make in the cafe — and will also allow you to size up your cafe drink for free. Any children in your family under the Premium membership will get a free cafe treat on their birthday, too. Of course, you'll also get access to the regular Rewards program as a Premium member, so you can still collect stamps for dollars off your next purchase. A Premium membership costs about $40 per year.