Starbucks Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Kraken Community Iceplex Store with Special Guest

October 10, 2022 • 2 min read

In September 2021, Starbucks opened its 21st U.S. Community Store inside the Kraken Community Iceplex (KCI) in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood. Since opening, the store has become a community fixture, serving customers and committing a dedicated portion of its sales receipts to benefit local community programs.

This past weekend, Starbucks proudly presented its second Puck Drop Grant to North Helpline, a community organization in the Northgate neighborhood. The $50,000 grant will directly benefit North Helpline’s Homelessness Prevention program.

With a mission “to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one cup, one person and one neighborhood at a time,” Starbucks believes we have a responsibility to strengthen our communities. That commitment began in our hometown of Seattle 50 years ago and remains true at the company today.

Below is a series of photos, highlighting our partnership with the Seattle Kraken at our KCI store over the last year:

The Kraken’s newly announced mascot, Buoy the sea troll, joins partners behind the bar of the KCI Community Store. The store is especially popular with kids.

Mari Horita, Senior Vice President, Social Impact & Government Relations, Seattle Kraken, joins North Helpline executive director Kelly Brown and Starbucks own June Ashley in the presentation of a $50,000 Puck Drop Grant from Starbucks to North Helpline. Food insecurity is one of the major challenges faced by KCI neighbors in the Northgate area, and Starbucks has long taken action to fight hunger and support the thriving communities it calls home.

Artist Paige Pettibon, a Tacoma-based artist and member of the Salish and Kootenai Confederated Tribes, contributed the mural pictured above to the Iceplex, in collaboration with Starbucks and the One Roof Foundation. The four-figure pattern in the mural, often found in traditional Coastal Salish basket weaving, represents community coming together through craft and design.

KING 5 News in Seattle covered the one-year anniversary of the KCI Community Store and the neighborhood-focused relationship between Starbucks, the Seattle Kraken, and the One Roof Foundation, which is committed to sponsoring field trips for kids at local Title I schools to visit the Iceplex and learn about the sport of hockey.

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Todd, a four-year partner (employee), was chosen from an original group of more than 17,000 baristas across the U.S. and Canada, capping a five-month long celebration of community, connection and craft.

Monyee Chau’s art will be featured on the latest collection of Starbucks drinkware at participating U.S. stores this summer to honor Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Grants from The Starbucks Foundation for local nonprofits are awarded based on nominations from Starbucks partners — totaling over $15 million since 2019.