But will the Starbucks overlooking Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopen in the same spot? 

Back in November, people around the world were saddened to hear that the famous Starbucks overlooking the Shibuya Scramble Crossing had closed its doors indefinitely.

▼ The windows of Starbucks on the second floor of the building were covered following news of the closure.

The reason for the shutdown was due to it being located within the Tsutaya store which occupied nine floors of the multi-storey Q Front building, where customers could purchase a variety of media products like books, CDs, DVDs and video games and even rent them too. However, the increasing popularity of apps and streaming services saw a significant decline in demand for the store’s rental goods in recent years, leading them to close up shop for an overhaul of the store design.

▼ And that meant Starbucks had to shut its doors too.

Now, Tsutaya has announced its reopening date, and revealed a new jet-black stylised take on the brand’s “T” logo “to coincide with the rebirth of Shibuya Tsutaya”.

According to Tsutaya, the building will reopen on 25 April, with CD and DVD rentals, previously located on floors on three to five, now abolished and relegated to the brand’s mail-delivery rental site, Tsutaya Discas.

This frees up a number of floors to create more capacity for cafes and event spaces unique to this branch of Tsutaya. While the operating company behind Tsutaya, Culture Convenience Club, is remaining hush-hush on the exact details for now, they have revealed that the bottom three floors — the ground floor  and the first and second basement floors — are set aside “for creating love for IP from around the world”. What that IP (intellectual property) entails is under wraps at the moment, but the company says it involves “a variety of products from around the world, from entertainment such as animation and music to high-end brands”, with limited-time pop-up stores and events being held.

The second to fourth floors, entitled “Inspiring Café & Lounge” are dedicated to the “era of the individual”, where people can unwind and enjoy some personal time, with lounge and cafe seating for 500 people. Floors five to seven are devoted to “experiences that can only be found here“, with a lounge, bookstore and cafe, while the eighth floor is a studio linked to events on other floors and the rooftop is an outdoor event space.

If Tsutaya’s goal was to create a sense of mystery and intrigue about the renewal, they’ve certainly succeeded, as the vague information they’ve provided has left us with more questions than answers about what to expect when the complex reopens to the public.

One of those questions is whether or not the world-famous Starbucks branch will be reopening in its former location overlooking the scramble crossing, or if there’ll be a new cafe or lounge replacing it. For that, we’ll just have to wait and see, with Tsutaya saying it’ll provide more details in the lead up to the April opening.

Source, images: PR Times
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