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A day at the Heart of SF: Starbucks inside Macys at Union Square

I was on the fence about including this particular Starbucks in my website. A Starbucks inside a mall is clearly intended for the shoppers. As is with many cafes in fi-di, when a lot of people go to a cafe for work, they either add more seats to accommodate, or remove wifi and/or power plugs to get rid of the new crowd. So far almost every time I have been to this Starbucks, I have been the only one there to work. And it should stay that way otherwise they are going to take away my precious power outlets.







1) wifi 10 / 10
It works.

2) seating 7 / 10
There are some small tables and some bar tables looking outside at the Union Square. It can get pretty crowded in the evening when people go shopping. Generally you will be able to find a seat withing 10 minutes or so.

3) power outlets 4 / 10
There are power outlets near two of the small tables. There are two more at the sides of the big window looking over the Union Square. It is  hard to get those if you are there when its busy.

4) vibe: 4 / 10
Most people are shoppers taking a break. Surprisingly the coffee breaks can take up to an hour or so.

Overall: 6 / 10
It is a good cafe if you enjoy people watching and like the nice view. But the vibe and seating aren't the best. I suggest going there not expecting an outlet and staying for an hour or two in each visit.


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