For Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) the idea of a store within a store was a good way to spread its brand even thicker across America. But Starbucks isn’t resting on its laurels: The Seattle-based coffee house has opened a new kiosk at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, as part of a plan to get into even more places with smaller, portable coffee sales.

Consider it the coffee cart for the 21st century economy.

What’s more, it sounds like the portable venue may be a prototype for kiosks that would allow Starbucks to quickly and inexpensively energize its retail growth plans.

Suddenly, what’s as old as the hot dog vender on the streets of New York City, seems new again. Located on the hotel’s second floor hotel near the Sky Bridge that connects the JW to the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center, the Indy kiosk is well positioned to draw customers from the neighboring White River State Park, government center and the NCAA. It is a perfect example of how Starbucks can satisfy a desire for its brews in prime locations without paying the high price tags to buy, lease or renovate space.

The new Starbucks kiosk will offer the full Starbucks menu of coffee, handcrafted beverages, pastries and baked goods, as well as sandwiches and snacks. And it will be open Monday-Saturday 6 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.

While visits to some kiosks may not be able to sit awhile and surf the internet, they will be able to test Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone apps that allow users to pay with a swipe of their smartphone instead of a credit card. SBUX said the kiosk will be one of the first Starbucks locations to let customers order and pay electronically from their iPhone in the nation.

Retail kiosks could really accelerate Starbucks under the coffeehouse chain’s new operating format. Come September, three new regional presidents charged with overseeing Starbuck’s businesses in their respective continental regions will have the power to decide when, where and how they build the brand. So if the president in charge of the China and Asia Pacific region believes that a Starbucks kiosks on the streets or office buildings of Shanghai is a good way to test new markets, there’s a good chance SBUX will be exporting this coffee cart model.