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The Starbucks at Gaston and La Vista reopened on Saturday after a quick, 10-day remodel, and patrons have already begun filing through the doors to sip on lattes and check out the new digs.

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Starbucks _ new 2To say the place received a “major overhaul” wouldn’t even begin to cover the extensive nip-tick this Starbucks recently underwent. “Unrecognizable” is more like it, and — as you can imagine — the reaction has been mixed, according to one of the baristas. Some people love it, but some others are sad to see the space so drastically reworked.

The space definitely seems larger. There was a tad extra space between Frost Bank and the old Starbucks floor plan, so that accounts for some of it. The new layout is also more open, anchored by a large communal table in the center of the room and rimmed by a row of bar tables along the windows.

Which by the way, as far as I can tell, the windows are exactly the same as before. Other than that, everything else looks completely new — new tables, new chairs, new lighting, new espresso bar.

One of the most eye-catching differences is the warm, red tile backsplash behind the bar. At first glance, it almost looks like brick, but the shiny tiles play well off the more rugged wooden elements the designers introduced into the space.

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