The long awaited Starbucks at Ullman Commons is here, and this Seattleite couldn’t be any more excited to have such a convenient location to get my white mocha frappuccinos. With all the build up over the last year, walking into the Starbucks for the first time did nothing to let me down. The inside is approximately three times larger than the average Starbucks café according to an article by the Thousand Oaks Acorn.

Sophomore Luke Johnson says that the seating is by far the best feature at the café.

“It’s a good place to do homework, especially since it’s open so late.”

Open from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily, the Ullman Commons’ Starbucks is open the latest of all Thousand Oaks locations listed on the Starbucks website. Now all the night owls, myself included, have the option of delicious coffees and teas to help us with our nocturnal habits. Some students however, are not as pleased with the operating hours as others.

“It doesn’t matter if you go at 7 a.m. or noon: no matter what time you go in, there is always a line,” senior Courtney Ambrosius said.

Having been in more than a few times myself, I completely agree that there is always a wait, but this is to be expected this early in the school year. With the employees still in training and the high demand of the students and the community, a delay and a few messed up drink orders come with the territory.

I’m sure many people have noticed by now that there seems to be a shortage of supplies at Starbucks, ranging from detrimental drink ingredients to the flat-top lids for those drinks without whipped cream topping. I for one was a little disappointed when I ordered my favorite summer drink for my first Starbucks trip, and was informed that there was no lemonade to go in my passion tea. It definitely creates a hiccup in not only the Starbucks experience, but the remainder of the day when you cannot get your favorite pick-me-up in between classes.

“I’ve gotten a few very soupy frappuccinos,” sophomore Brittany Elamparo said.

Despite the less than adequate frapps, Elamparo says that she continues to return to Starbucks for the environment. With a good aura, the perfect amount of background noise and a good station over the speakers, Starbucks has turned into one of the best study spots on campus. Not to mention, the wi-fi seems to be the best on campus when sitting in the café. According to California Lutheran University’s Information Systems and Services, this is because it is one of the few places on campus that you are not competing with printers and gaming consoles for wi-fi access.

My favorite feature at Starbucks is the gracious amount of outlets placed throughout the café. Starbucks is likely to become one of the most popular spots for group projects and studying. It was a very good move to place outlets at the most convenient locations for each seating area, both inside and out.

Overall, I am very impressed with the size of the Starbucks and how much thought went into the planning. Although they have a long way to go in terms of training and preparedness, Starbucks is off to a great start and you will find me there on a regular basis this year.

Sydney Dawn

Published on September 17, 2014