Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf tapped Gensler, one of the world’s biggest design firms, to refresh its look in Beverly Hills. Today, with help from newly retired mayor Jimmy “Never Skips a Food Event” Delshad, the 90210 store re-opened with the attachment of something called “Lounge,” an extra space that’s supposed to make you want to idle here longer while you type that “novel” of your’s and nurse a cup of mud. The new design incorporates a patio with a fireplace, a station for oatmeal and something a press release calls “frozen swirl,” and take this, Intelligentsia, an area with its own coffee concierge, who will presumably try and make you believe the hype about your caramel latte. The new look does make it fit in a little better next to fancy-pants Rodeo Drive, but it’s hard to understand the need for Gensler or even the ex-mayor to get on-board this simple adjustment. And could we be mistaken, but has this new look already lead to an increased Rodeo Drive attitude in the store’s staff?
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, 445 N Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills. 310-278-1865.
