They automatically add an espresso shot to your order at the NBC Starbucks #sleepdeprived #coffeelover pic.twitter.com/dbNuf0dc2H
— Ariana Kukors (@ArianaKukors) February 7, 2014
After reports surfaced that NBC has set up an illicit Starbucks inside its Sochi media headquarters, the secret coffee shop is now on "lockdown." According to the Wall Street Journal, security guards and baristas at the Starbucks are now working to ensure that no customer takes their Starbucks cup off the premises.
The cups had become something of a status symbol at Sochi, and it's unclear whether this measure has come at the behest of Olympics coffee sponsor McDonald's. It does seem likely, especially given that employees have been forced to use generic cups if they want to carry their coffee out of the building. Says one anonymous employee: "The same guards that won't let people in now won't let Starbucks out."
· NBC's 'Secret' Starbucks Goes on Lockdown [WSJ]
· There's a Secret Starbucks at the Olympics in Sochi [-E-]
· All Sochi Coverage on Eater [-E-]