As if you didn't already spend all your money at Starbucks, now you have another reason: Beginning April 11, they're launching their Mercato menu, brimming with a new selection of salads and sandwiches. For those of you itching to know where to get the Starbucks Mercato lunch menu, I have great news if you live in the Midwest, and, uh, no news if you don't. Can you let us have this one, please? Chicago never gets anything first.
Inspired by their recent boom in food sales — food business has grown 1.5 times since 2013, according to a press release — Starbucks was inspired to begin offering a wider variety of grab 'n' go salads and sandwiches for lunch-minded folks. If you've ever tried to snag a quick afternoon caffeine fix, you already know the following statistic: More than 50 percent of customers visit Starbucks after 11 a.m.
Menu planning began during the summer of 2016, with Starbucks' food team touring foodie havens like their hometown of Seattle, keeping an eye on what was flying off the shelves of similar chains and speaking to their customers regarding what, specifically, they wanted available.
The results? You guys, they look so good. Za’atar Chicken & Lemon Tahini Salad? Cauliflower Tabbouleh? Crunchy Almond Butter, Strawberries, and Jam Sandwich?!
Beginning April 11, more than 100 Starbucks locations throughout downtown Chicago will begin offering the Mercato menu. The snacks will eventually migrate to other locations throughout the United States, though dates have yet to be released. Want to get your paws on this menu? Come visit the Windy City and learn, once and for all, that Midwest is best. To be clear, yes, I am from the Midwest, and yes, I currently live in Chicago, but I am unbiased on this matter, 100 percent. This is just straight reporting. Chicago's great.
The best part? All unsold food will be donated each night to Starbucks FoodShare, a partnership with Feeding America that gives Starbucks surplus food to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, helping them to distribute the equivalent of 160,000 meals every day. In other words, everybody wins. Enjoy your moment in the sun, Chicago!
