Where else can you grab a Starbucks drink to sip while you shop and leave with a hot personal pizza? No matter how often you frequent Target, there's still a good chance there's a lot you don't know about its food court. The untold truth of Target's food court may be more surprising than you think.
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00:00When it comes to quality and style, it's difficult to compete with Target.
00:04And where else can you grab a Starbucks drink to shop with and leave with a hot personal pizza?
00:09But no matter how often you frequent Target,
00:11there's probably a lot you don't know about its food court. Here's the untold truth.
00:16When you think of the food at Target, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is Starbucks.
00:21That makes sense, since a Target run often coincides with a venti cold brew or caramel
00:26The fact is, Target and Starbucks have similar base customers. These are buyers
00:31who want a high level of quality without having to pay a fortune to get it,
00:35and that's just what both brands offer. Plus, Target wants to treat shoppers to an experience,
00:40and the fact that customers can sip on something or even get a snack before they shop
00:45means they'll be less likely to rush out of the store.
00:48The Starbucks locations in Target might offer the same food and drink as any other Starbucks,
00:53but they're actually managed by Target and not by Starbucks itself.
00:57That means that the people who are working behind the counter are actually Target employees,
01:02they just don't get stuck wearing the red shirts and restocking shelves.
01:06Starbucks doesn't consider its Target stores to be Starbucks at all.
01:10This policy doesn't have too much of an effect on the customer, though. You can still use a
01:14Starbucks gift card at a Target location, and loyal Starbucks customers can redeem
01:18their points there as well. If you're a longtime Target fan,
01:22then you've probably noticed that the store has changed a lot in the past decade.
01:27Gone are the days of the budget store aesthetics and 90s decor, but some stores have tried to
01:32revamp their previous cafes while embracing the newer and more sophisticated Target aesthetic.
01:37Enter the Grab & Go snack bars, which Target started testing in 2019.
01:42These self-serve snack bars have a lot of the old Target favorites like Pizza Hut pizzas
01:46and popcorn, but also offer other quick bites like salads and fruit. It strikes a balance
01:52between beloved Target cafe favorites and trendier, healthier options that are closer
01:56to Target's current consumer base. Over the years, healthy and fast-casual restaurants
02:02have been gaining steam, and food courts stocked with just hot dogs and pretzels
02:06are not as trendy as they once were. So in 2015, Freshy became Target's attempt at
02:12offering healthier, fast food to customers as they shopped. Freshy offers salads, bowls, wraps,
02:18soups, just what you'd think of when you go to a healthy, fast-casual restaurant.
02:22It may have seemed like a good idea, but it didn't quite work out as planned.
02:26Just two years after the chain restaurant moved into Target stores, it shut all of its Target
02:30locations down. Apparently, Freshy Food wasn't what Target customers were after when they headed
02:35toward the food court. Everyone knows about the seasonal drinks at Starbucks, but a better-kept
02:41secret is the Target brand Icy's. Not only do they have a variety of standard flavors,
02:46but they occasionally add new flavors into the mix. These flavors are often associated with a
02:51cute character and come in a bright, Instagrammable color that's hard to resist snapping a photo of.
02:56For instance, take 2019's Mermaid Icy, with its bright blue shade and blue raspberry flavoring.
03:02Then, over the holiday season, Target rolled out the Cherry Lime Elf Icy. And then in February
03:082020, the Baby Narwhal-flavored Icy came out as well. Did we want to know what a Baby Narwhal
03:13tastes like? No. Are we going to buy it anyway because it's pink and you can get a medium for
03:18under $2? Yeah, probably. You probably know all about the Target effect and how it gets you to
03:24spend more money than you planned.
03:26"...you may have just needed some Ziploc bags or one or two items and the next thing you know,
03:30you've got a cart full of stuff."
03:33But one thing you might not know is that the food court is actually a big part of how Target
03:38gets you to spend money. According to Business Insider, the coffee shop helps establish a
03:42welcoming vibe, inviting people to come in and hang out. With a coffee from Starbucks in your
03:47hand and the kids occupied with popcorn and Icys, you're a lot more likely to wander the aisles
03:53mindlessly. You're there to escape the reality of life and cheer yourself up with a pair of
03:58$15 earrings you don't really need. We're onto you, Target, and we're totally fine with it.
04:03"...it's, like, for everyone. I literally go to Target for everything."
04:08Target made another attempt at offering healthier meal options at one of its stores
04:12in 2016. The Chobani Cafe in New York's Tribeca neighborhood opened in October,
04:18and it sought to offer a variety of yogurt options in addition to soups,
04:22salads, and sandwiches. The company boasted that Chobani only used artisanal ingredients,
04:27playing into the new ethos of Target's branding. But less than three years later,
04:32the Chobani Cafe seemed unhealthy to profitability. These, um, targeted food
04:38options seemed to fall flat with the typical Target shopper for some reason.
04:43It's not available everywhere, but where it is, it's a hit. Target Popcorn seems to have a cult-like
04:49following online. It's easy to grab and go, making it the ideal in-store snack for when shoppers
04:54need a quick bite to eat. So it's no surprise that some popcorn fans have been upset by the
04:58news that their Target Popcorn was disappearing to make way for Starbucks. There was even a
05:03change.org petition to keep it in stores where it was slated to be removed. No need to panic,
05:09though. It looks like the popcorn is here to stay in many stores, especially since it's been
05:13spotted in the new grab-and-go snack bars. If the snack bars see widespread success,
05:18more Target shoppers who've lost their precious popcorn may see it return.
05:23Super Targets are everything you love about a Target, plus a full grocery store.
05:28The bakeries have everything you'd expect to find in any grocery store bakery,
05:32but there's a special incentive that makes it a big hit for parents — the free cookie for kids.
05:37Children 12 and under can get a free cookie any time they go to the bakery.
05:41This program has been around for years, and it's always been a big hit. But some parents
05:46would prefer healthier options, so Target started offering a free piece of fruit as well.
05:51Kids can choose between a cookie, a banana, or a clementine. This keeps kids occupied when mom
05:56and dad are shopping. Plus, if the adults are lucky, they might be able to snag a bite from
06:01their kids. Imagine this. It's a Thursday afternoon. You need some caffeine to help
06:06you power through the evening so you can make it to Friday. Then, you walk into your local Target
06:11and come face-to-face with Starbucks. Even though Starbucks' Target locations aren't
06:16officially Starbucks, they still offer the coffee chain's famous happy hour.
06:20Happy hours take place every Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and when you buy one drink,
06:26you get one free. That doesn't count for every single beverage,
06:29but it does usually apply to most of them. Therefore, it's a perfect excuse to grab a
06:34friend, go on a Target run, and indulge in your favorite Starbucks drink to sip on while you shop.
06:40One of the long-term staples of the Target food court is the ever-popular Pizza Hut Express.
06:45You've got your chicken Alfredo, you've got your twisty cheese sticks with sauce,
06:49you've even got your breadsticks loaded with all the carbs you try to care about.
06:53But the most iconic item on the menu has to be the personal pizzas.
06:57Since you can choose from cheese, pepperoni, and even sausage, there's something for everyone.
07:03And while you may not see many old-school Pizza Huts across the country anymore,
07:07you won't miss out on the Pizza Hut Express at Target. In fact, the locations are popular
07:12enough that they sometimes even get exclusive menu items, like the Mac & Cheese Personal Pan Pizza.
07:18We're all familiar with this scene. You're at a baby's birthday party,
07:21and the little one starts to go in for the cake. They're a baby, they don't care.
07:25Their tiny fingers reach for the impeccably smooth frosting you've been dying to dig into,
07:30and a small but determined fist snatches a hunk of the previously unblemished cake.
07:36Yes, that's the cake that everyone has to eat from, even the adults.
07:40Smash cakes are an adorable way for babies to celebrate their birthdays,
07:44and they help parents avoid the above dilemma. They're small cakes made just for the birthday
07:48baby. Baby can get as messy as they want while the rest of the guests enjoy a separate dessert,
07:54and Target might just be the best place to get your child's smash cake.
07:58If you buy your baby's first birthday cake from the Super Target Bakery,
08:01you'll get a smash cake for free.
08:04Of the Target food court options, perhaps none is more coveted than the soft pretzel.
08:09This street fare food has been around for quite some time, and it has a loyal fan base who you
08:14might see snacking in the aisles. The magic of these pretzels is the fact that you can get them
08:19both sweet and salty. Of course, you've got your normal salted pretzels that everyone loves,
08:24but Target wanted to offer something different as well, and that's why the cinnamon sugar pretzel
08:29bites are also a huge hit. Add in the fact that you can get both regular pretzels and the pretzel
08:34bites in both flavors, and it's easy to see why Target is keeping its most famous food items
08:39around for its loyal customers.