Skip to content

Starbucks’ New Lunch Menu Launching in Seattle, No More Sad Paninis

Seattle's coffee empire hits refresh on its lunch offerings.

By Chelsea Lin July 27, 2017

SBX20170206_82196.tif
SBX20170206_82196.tif

I eat more meals at Starbucks than I’d care to admit—mostly those irresistible bacon-and-gruyere sous vide egg bites gobbled in traffic (glamorous, I know). Doesn’t it seem that every time you get attached to a menu item there that it disappears? Hopefully those sad wheat sandwiches or paninis weren’t your thing because today Starbucks is announcing a new lunch menu concept launching in 200 local stores: Mercato will feature “vibrant, hearty grab-and-go salads, sandwiches and sides” made fresh every day. 

The new menu will all be priced under $10 before tax. A few examples: za’atar chicken and lemon tahini salad with freekah (a whole grain superfood) and cucumber tzatziki, green goddess avocado salad with rice and orzo, roasted chicken sandwich with fig spread and a Cubano sandwich with both pulled pork and smoked loin. Those stores selling the Mercato line will keep their breakfast pastries—so thankfully my egg bites aren’t going anywhere anytime soon—but won’t have the existing salad-and-sandwich lunch options.

Perhaps the most exciting part, from a grand perspective anyway, is that Starbucks will be donating leftover food at the end of the night to Food Lifeline, via the Starbucks FoodShare program.

Starbucks launched Mercato in Chicago in April—Seattle will be the second market. The company has grown its food business by 1.5 times since 2013, with plans to double it by 2021. Listening to what customers want—clearly more grab-and-go options, and healthy, tasty ones at that—seems like a good way to do it. 

Follow Us

Restaurant Roundup: Pride Picks and Egypt’s National Dish

Restaurant Roundup: Pride Picks and Egypt’s National Dish

Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.

Pride is here and if you’re keen on showing a little extra support to bars and restaurants run by members of the LGBTQ+ community, you’re in luck—there are quite a few to choose from. Whether you raise a glass at WeRise Wines, enjoy a slice at A la Mode Pies, or slurp up the hand-pulled…

This Summer, Get Hitched at Town Hall

This Summer, Get Hitched at Town Hall

Cake & Punch brings fully planned micro weddings to one of Seattle’s best-known stages.

Almost exactly 16 years ago, over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I left work in Fremont and boarded a seaplane to Victoria, B.C., to get married. We were both working in tech at the time, and the whole plan was wonderfully small. I wore a colorful Anthropologie dress I’d bought for $150, and my…

Restaurant Roundup: Burgermaster Opens in Issaquah and Karaoke Returns

Restaurant Roundup: Burgermaster Opens in Issaquah and Karaoke Returns

Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.

Summer presents an interesting dilemma for parents, especially those who could really use a night off from cooking. Do you grin and bear it and stay at home? Or do you head out to eat and hope the one-two punch of tablet time and coloring books can get you at least an hour to enjoy…

Restaurant Roundup: Live-Fire Cooking and Galician Prix Fixe

Restaurant Roundup: Live-Fire Cooking and Galician Prix Fixe

Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.

Like a juicy beef patty smacked between two buns, next Thursday is National Burger Day, and one local burger joint is making sure you experience the occasion on a full stomach. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Uneeda Burger in Fremont is giving away one free Classic Burger — that’s romaine, tomato, pickles, and house…