NBC's Secret Sochi Starbucks Assists Staff in Olympic Grind

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Cups of Starbucks coffee drinks sit on a counter at a Starbucks store.

Image: Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

By Ann-Marie Alcantara2014-02-16 21:53:34 UTC

The Winter Olympics has seen its share of oddities, from an eye infection that felled Bob Costas to bobsledder Johnny Quinn breaking down doors. Now on the menu: a secret Starbucks at the NBC media grounds.

According to the Wall Street Journal, deep within NBC's media center exists a Starbucks for its some 2,500 on-site employees. Since the nearest Starbucks to Sochi is reportedly over 350 miles away, NBC flies in a rotating crew of 15 baristas from Starbucks locations all over Russia. These employees serve a limited menu of the coffee chain's drinks to NBC staff, as well as get paid their regular wages and housing at Sochi.

The secret Starbucks treads a thin line of corporate sponsorship rules at the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) enforces strict regulations that protect its corporate sponsors, meaning any brand not sponsoring the Olympics is not allowed to show its logo or otherwise affiliate itself with the lucrative event.

The Starbucks at the NBC media center is not open to the public, so it hasn't yet run afoul of the tight regulations. NBC representatives indicate the media giant it simply trying to fuel its staff with the coffee they love. “It’s what Napoleon said: An army travels on its stomach,” John Fritsche, NBC’s senior vice president of Olympic operations told the Wall Street Journal. “We, in a lot of ways, operate that way.”

The official coffee provider for the Olympics, McDonald’s, with its McCafé drinks, appears unfazed. "McCafé continues to be a popular beverage choice for athletes, media and spectators who want to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee," a McDonald's spokeswoman said to the Wall Street Journal.

With 69 Starbucks in Russia, NBC will likely have the barista-power to continue its rotation of Starbucks employees at Sochi for the duration of the games, barring any outcry from official Olympic sponsors.

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