Starbucks lounge at Cobham, situated left of the entrance, separate from the food court, next to Pizza Express. Starbucks is operated by Welcome Break and has traded here since 2012 when Cobham first opened. This Starbucks lounge was the largest in the UK when it first opened & uses a large proportion of space inside the amenity building, as well as spreading across two floors. Starbucks obtains a large amount of seating and possibly more than the main customer seating area itself, meaning when Cobham gets crowded, some customers use Starbucks’s seating without getting anything. You can get a nice overview of Cobham’s interior from the 2nd storey of this Starbucks. It being such a large store is the reason that this Starbucks was once of the first Welcone Break reopened after lockdown. If coffee was provided by Moto, this unit would be a Costa. The unit has been refreshed multiple times and consists of extortionate pricing structures. Starbucks already charge lots on the high street, but Welcome Break’s franchise charge more on top due to demand of being by the motorway. This massively inflated pricing may put some customers off and will sway those people towards McDonalds, however, mostly customers put up with it as Starbucks was very busy during my visit. Welcome Break intend to add a Starbucks Drive Thru kiosk to Cobham, which will take some trade away from this lounge, however in the meantime this is the only Starbucks on-site and it gets to keep all its customers. Starbucks is signposted from the M25 as it’s one of Cobham’s core brands. It’s also advertised lots around the site, it’s very obvious in the amenity building so customers can’t miss it, and Starbucks is included on all the totem poles here.

Photo taken on 23/12/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Cobham, Starbucks, M25, Extra