Write Around Tampa

Starbucks

10431 Sheldon Rd

Tampa

This Starbucks is located at a busy intersection, as well as in a shopping center that has an Aldi, Costco, and several restaurants. It does a steady drive-thru business and doesn’t seem to be the type of Starbucks that people would flock to for an in-store experience. But on a Wednesday evening at 5:00, when most folks are either stuck in traffic or home making dinner, this place is packed. Let’s cut through the noise (a woman tutoring a four-year-old, a woman listening to something on her phone on full blast without headphones, teens doing their school projects, singing along to the loud Taylor Swift music coming over the sound system) and see if it’s worth it.

Quality and pricing of food and drink:
Venti mango dragonfruit refresher, half lemonade half water costs over $6. They clearly raised their prices and this gift card isn’t going to last forever. Can I say something about the cups? The lid is like suction-cup/welded onto it. I know this because there wasn’t enough ice in my drink so I asked for more ice and was handed another cup with a lid. I had to remove both lids and I thought there was something wrong with me. Took me almost a minute per cup. Are they child proof? Built so it won’t pop open if you knock it on the floor or it falls over in your car? If so, mission accomplished.

Are there enough outlets?
Yes. It’s a Starbucks.

How’s the wifi?
Typical sign your life away unsecured access.

Will my muse come out?
Yes. Although it’s a tad noisy and you might have to put your own headphones on if you have problems like me and want to stab someone if they’re clicking their pen (or singing Taylor Swift), it all just seems to blend into the background and just sound like busy-noise. And you want to be busy, tap, tap, tapping away, getting out that brilliant story or article your muse is yelling into your ear.

How long can I park it?
Open to close, which is a staggering 4:30 in the morning M-F, 5 am Saturday and Sunday, closing at 8:00 pm all nights of the week. Imagine how much writing you could get done if you could get your keister into one of their comfy chairs before five in the morning.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 laptops

Rachel Remick’s fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in various magazines, among them Rosebud, Bluestem, Minerva Rising, and ellipsis . . . literature and art. A frequent contributor to women’s magazine Sasee, her writing has also been published in several volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. She lives in Tampa, Florida.